Chart: The AI-mazing Patent Race

The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays. Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way we live, and the tech giants are racing to stay ahead of the curve. AI-related funding totaled an estimated $15.2 billion in 2017, a 144% increase over the previous year. The U.S. tech industry leads with a 50% share of those investments, even with China swiftly closing the gap in terms of patents and AI research. AI itself isn't new, but boosted computing power, increased connectivity, and the sheer volume of data has paved the way for the fourth industrial revolution of AI. "The coming era will be looked back upon as the'AI era,' when AI became the defining competitive advantage for corporations, government agencies, and investment professionals," predicts David Nadler, founder of Kensho Technologies.