AI Investments Surge

Investors flocked to artificial intelligence startups during the first three months of 2017, with quarterly venture funding again topping $500 million, according to a venture capital tracking report. PricewaterhouseCoopers and CB Insights reported more than 1,100 deals during the first quarter, with venture investments totaling $13.9 billion. Those totals represent a "slight recovery" from the fourth quarter of last year, with total investment dollars rising 15 percent on a quarterly basis. The market trackers said the first quarter results show that "investment continues at a moderated pace" after venture funding in areas like big data began to slow last year. CB Insights' CEO Anand Sanwal noted that the previous year "was irrationally exuberant and the 2016 pullback was a reaction to that. However, 2016 was more of a soft landing than a wholesale popping of the venture bubble [that] pundits have been predicting since 2009."