The bot invasion is on, powered by $24B in funding

While the manufacturing sector is increasingly using physical robots to improve industrial processes, the market for virtual bots or "chatbots" is also gaining serious traction in the space where humans and computers interact. Bots are essentially software technologies that automate tasks and enable effective human-computer interactions. Bots are increasingly taking over customer service operations in businesses around the globe, while technology giants like Microsoft, Google and Facebook are getting in on the game with their own bot platforms. And the bot market is starting to attract big bucks too. Recent figures indicate that 180 bot-related companies have attracted $24 billion in funding to date, with hundreds of other bot companies vying for investor dollars.