China Leaves US Behind With $5 Billion AI Investment

Chinese startups are not shying away from adopting new technologies like facial recognition, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, and there has never been a more exciting time for the country's AI startup ecosystem. A recent research by New York-based market advisory firm ABI Research has found that Chinese AI startups raised $5 billion in venture capital funding in 2017 and overtook their US counterparts. The study, which was released on August 27, shows that investors are confident with the technologies developed by Chinese startups, their business strategies, and market potential. The overall investment value for AI startups increased year on year by a staggering 150 per cent globally in 2017, growing from $4 billion in 2016 to $10.7 billion in 2017, the research says. Contrary to their US counterparts who raised $4.4 billion of investment from 155 investments, Chinese startups raised $4.9 billion from 19 investments, indicating a sharp focus by the investors on mature AI applications with strong commercial viability and successful use cases.