Venture Capital firms accelerate Research work in AI labs. Every start-up or research organization requires investment to proceed with the work that they aim to do, and this requires funding from an external source that baits into the funding process. These funding organizations are called venture capitals firms and organizations. Over the years, the venture capitalist firm has pro-actively invested in technology. Artificial Intelligence and its subsidiaries, and big data are counted as the top investments by venture capitalist firms.

It knows the videos we might like. And it can even, perhaps, recommend the best course of action to take to maximize our personal health. Artificial intelligence and its subset of disciplines--such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision--are seemingly becoming integrated into our daily lives whether we like it or not. What was once sci-fi is now ubiquitous research and development in company and university labs around the world. Similarly, the startups working on many of these AI technologies have seen their proverbial stock rise. More than 30 of these companies are now valued at over a billion dollars, according to data research firm CB Insights, which itself employs algorithms to provide insights into the tech business world.

Today's artificial intelligence market is not easy to quantify. Besides the lack of consensus on a coherent definition for "artificial intelligence" as a term, the field's nascent stage of development makes it difficult to carve out silos or hard barriers of where one industry or application ends, and another begins. In one of our more popular recent articles, we aimed to derive a valuation of the artificial intelligence market, based on current market research and our own insights. In this week's article, I've set out to determine more of a "lay of the land" of the AI industry, including it's various segments and application areas. If you're interested in how developments in machine learning and AI might impact your own company or business, then keeping an eye on trends of industry and application growth is pertinent; we hope that this article will be a good jumping off point to some of the most thought-out assessments of AI and it's "segments" as we could collate from the web.

Forget dot coms and social networks. The hotspot for research and investment in Silicon Valley right now is the future of transport. Convince the valley you have a new way to create a brain for a self-driving car, help people find parking, detect a drowsy driver, or build a personal electric plane, and you'll find yourself showered in VC funding. That explains the madness of the above chart (desktop users: mouse over for a zoomed in view). The "Future of Transportation Stack," produced by VC firm Comet Labs, counts 263 companies, most of which you've probably never heard of, all of them vying to cash in on the nascent automotive revolution.

In a strong indication of the links in tech between China and Silicon Valley, social network giant Tencent has acquired a 5 percent stake in U.S. electric car maker Tesla for $1.8 billion. The rationale behind the deal is potential collaboration on automated ride-sharing and delivery services as well as related information, entertainment and e-commerce content. Alibaba-backed search engine startup Quixey in Silicon Valley has failed with strategic misalignment, cultural differences and disagreements over a commercial contract to blame. Quixey was one of Alibaba's first bets in Silicon Valley tech startups, and the Chinese conglomerate led financing of well more than $100 million in Quixey, starting from 2013 and ending with a $30 million loan and $10 million in cash last summer. It's a high-profile fail for Alibaba and its U.S. investment strategy.

AI/Robotics-focused venture capital firm and research lab COMET LABS' co-founder Liu Wei has been hired by BAIDU VENTURES as its new CEO. Baidu Ventures is the independent investment arm of the Chinese technology conglomerate, Baidu. As the new CEO of Baidu Ventures, Wei will be leading investments and strategic partnerships for the firm with a strong focus on developing new artificial intelligence technologies. Additionally, Wei and Baidu Ventures will be strengthening their partnership with Comet Labs both in the United States and in China. Baidu Ventures has committed resources and talent to enhance Comet Labs' industry-focused accelerator programs, beginning with the Transportation Lab that was recently opened for startup applications.

Baidu Ventures exists on the front-lines of the Chinese search giant's push to brand itself as an artificial intelligence company. In an effort to bridge the AI ecosystems of China and the United States, Baidu Ventures is partnering with Comet Labs, a San Francisco-based fund specializing in machine intelligence. Unlike other venture capital firms looking to diversify into AI, Comet Labs lives exclusively in the space -- providing capital, technical resources and mentorship to its startups. Wei Liu, now head of Baidu's $700 million venture arm, was part of the founding team at Comet Labs before he was poached into the world of corporate venture. "Baidu founded Baidu Ventures to build an ecosystem around AI technology and do investment to help AI startups with money, technology and connections to industrial players," asserted Liu.

Comet Labs has assembled a coalition of investors and corporate partners to help accelerate product and customer development cycles for fast growing robotics and machine learning companies. Startups are paired with experienced mentors and are given access to industry partners and platform technology. The fund's partners include the world's largest global manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare companies. About Comet Labs Comet Labs is an early-stage venture capital firm associated with a 300M fund, Legend Star. They work with startups developing solutions in specific industry verticals, as well as those building enabling technologies.