According to data from CB Insights, investments in artificial intelligence have been through the roof in recent years. While investments hovered around $700 million in 2013, they have reached astronomical levels at nearly $2.4 billion in just a few short years. For those of you not great at math, that is almost exactly triple the amount of funding for artificial intelligence in less than half a decade. Not too shabby for a field that has been the bad guy in more 80s movies than I can count. While funding is clearly on the rise in this exciting industry, that’s not all artificial intelligence companies have to be excited about. According to the data, AI deals have also increased substantially in recent years boasting a paltry 196 in 2013 and exploding to a whopping 397 in 2015. That’s almost twice as many deals in a two year span. It’s almost like this technology can change the world or something! As far as who is doing the investing, the data showed a comprehensive list of the most active VCs when it comes to artificial intelligence. One firm, Khosla Ventures, took the top spot by investing in 15 different artificial intelligence startups, including but not limited to Atomwise, MetaMind, Scaled Inference, and LiftIgniter. Other notable firms include Intel Capital, Data Collective, and Google Ventures. However, as Elon Musk has warned on multiple occasions, there is a breaking point that we don’t want to cross. While the advancements increase, the potential for misunderstanding is great. And as he puts it, it would only take one un-researched command to send humanity down a dark path that they might not be able to return from. Photo: Flickr / RV1864
