A year after China overtook the USA as the number one country for AI investments, the Americans have reclaimed pole position. According to figures published by ABI Research, the United States received 52.3 percent of global AI investments in 2018. In 2018, investments in US-based AI technologies reached a total of $9.7 billion. This represents a staggering 120 percent year-on-year growth. Huge AI investments from companies such as Zoox, Cruise Automation, Zymergen, and Dataminr helped to propel the US back into the number one spot.

In recent years, AI technology has seen widespread adoption across a number of key industries--from healthcare and education to finance and security. But as the industry continues to mature, what factors are driving new investment activity and sector growth? Which countries are hotspots for AI innovation and development? And what are the budding trends worth monitoring? Sales Director Kevin Issadore walks through a recent Quid analysis on AI companies and patents to identify opportunities for disruption and innovation within the industry.

In recent years, AI technology has seen widespread adoption across a number of key industries--from healthcare and education to finance and security. But as the industry continues to mature, what factors are driving new investment activity and sector growth? Which countries are hotspots for AI innovation and development? And what are the budding trends worth monitoring? Sales Director Kevin Issadore walks through a recent Quid analysis on AI companies and patents to identify opportunities for disruption and innovation within the industry.

Investments in AI, machine learning and robotic process automation (RPA) technology are set to reach $232 billion (roughly £176 billion) by 2025, a new report from KPMG has shown. The study suggests that, although AI technologies currently account for $12.4 billion (around £9.40 billion) of global investment, this number will skyrocket in the next three years, with 40 percent of executives expected to increase their AI investments by 20 percent or more, and 32 percent of them increasing RPA investment by 20 percent or more. However, many businesses also revealed they were unsure about the impact of AI and didn't feel confident their employees were prepared for such a drastic change. "Many traditional businesses with legacy approaches risk falling behind digital-first companies if they stay with the status quo," said Cliff Justice, KPMG partner and co-author of the study. "At the moment," Justice and his co-authors state, "executives demonstrated high hopes but little readiness to drive AI deployment at scale and use it as a vehicle for organizational transformation".

Experts said the trade conflict with the US will have no effect on China's development in AI technology, after an annual report released on Friday said China has become the most attractive country for investment and financing in AI technology, which accounts for 60 percent in the world. The report on China AI Development 2018 was released by Tsinghua University on Friday, which said from 2013 to the first quarter of 2018, the amount of investment and financing in AI technology in China accounts for 60 percent in the world, valued at $27 billion in 2017, Chinese news portal thepaper.com AI is an emerging area for investors with substantial "hot" money in the Chinese financial market, Xiang Yang, an industry expert at Beijing-based CCID Consulting, told the Global Times on Friday. "Many emerging industries will enjoy an investment boom at the beginning, but when the boom subsides, investors will be more rational, and survivors will be very qualified. The quality of China's AI will not suffer and will continue to attract more talent to return to China from the US," Wan said.

Number of companies: As of June 31, 2017, there were 2,542 AI companies worldwide, of which 41%, or 1,078, were located in the U.S. However, the difference between the U.S. and China – 486 companies – is huge. Capital investment: Based on existing data, U.S. – based AI companies have raised a total of 97.8 billion RMB (50.1% of global AI investment) compared to China-based companies that have raised 63.5 billion RMB (33.2% of global AI investment) Human capital: China has 39,200 AI specialists compared to the U.S.' 78,700. Training and retaining talent has become a critical impediment to the development of China's AI industry. Number of investment firms: The U.S. has three times the number of AI investment firms as China does.