Venture capital (VC) funding slid more deeply in AI & ML than in software overall in Q2, "falling 27.8% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) compared to 21.6% for IT more generally." Both deal value and deal count "fell to their lowest levels since Q4 2020, also lagging the rest of IT," the report from Pitchbook revealed. Of the 70 product categories the firm tracks, "only 21 are on pace to grow in VC funding in 2022, driven by leading vertical applications including sales & marketing, information security, and drug discovery." The update from Pitchbook also mentioned that horizontal platform investment "is lagging, as outsized revenue projections face market realities, with AI-as-a service (AIaaS) investment on pace to decrease 87.7% in 2022." Numerous AI platform companies "have struggled to reach revenue forecasts in the current financial environment, creating a greater emphasis on vertical applications that can rapidly deliver value."

Last week, Accenture Consulting published a presentation on how banks can utilize machine learning to draw quicker insights from their data. Machine learning is the specific application of artificial intelligence (AI) in which computers can learn without being explicitly programmed to do so. Machine learning begins with an identified data set that will be used to "train" the computer. If the goal is for the computer to make a judgment based on data, then you would also need historical data that can be matched with correct answers. Using historical data as a training guide, the computer can now be programmed to go through real world data sets searching for similar patterns and making predictions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robo-advising are hot sectors in the Fintech space. Kavout is a company that wants to provide powerful AI tools for all investors and, for the time being, these tools are free. Alex Lu, CEO and co-founder of Kavout, explains that hedge funds and investment banks are rapidly hiring AI and machine learning developers – pointing to the fact that Goldman Sachs has more software engineers than Facebook. "None of this is a coincidence," says Lu. "The big players know that there is much more to be gained in the markets by investing in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Our aim is to make those technologies available to all investors."

Leading investment crowdfunding platform OurCrowd has registered its 6th successful exit as portfolio company Crosswise has been purchased by Oracle. The transaction was revealed in Israeli media on April 15th revealing that Oracle paid 50 million for the "machine learning based cross-device data" company. The transaction closed on April 14th. OurCrowd, and its registered investors, participated in a Series A funding round that provided 670,392 to the young company. Co-investors on the funding round included Giza Venture Capital, Horizons Ventures and a "high profile angel group."