AI investment in the UK reaches all-time high - Techerati

Investment into UK artificial intelligence companies reached record levels in the first six months of this year, sealing a record year for funding and the UK's position as a top three country for AI investment, according to new figures. Tech Nation, a network for UK tech entrepreneurs, compiled the statistics to coincide with the launch of its new Applied AI growth programme. The statistics, which Tech Nation sourced from Crunchbase, reveal that AI investment grew six-fold between 2014 and 2018, with UK AI "scaleups" (companies with an average annualised return of at least 20 percent in the past 3 years with at least 10 employees) raising almost double that of France, Germany and the rest of Europe combined last year. Based on statistics from the first half of 2019, the sector's surge is showing no signs of slowing down. Crunchbase figures show AI funding in 2019 has already surpassed that achieved in the entire of 2018 ($1,021,642,595), reaching $1,063,012,777 and pushing the UK to third in the world for raising AI investment, behind China and the US, respectively.