Twenty-seven startups were funded in May for a total of $2.5 billion. This month's $2.5 billion in fundings doubles the January thru April total of $2.5 billion. Four acquisitions occurred in May. The most notable was SPX Corp., the large inspection equipment components manufacturer, which acquired CUES, a Florida robotic pipeline video inspection and rehab company, for $189 million. Look at all those LiDARs!

Twenty startups were funded in April 2018. Fifteen disclosed transaction amounts totaling $808 million of which the $600 million to SenseTime, the Alibaba-funded Chinese deep learning and facial recognition software provider focused on smart self-driving vehicle systems, was by far the largest. Seven acquisitions also occurred in April. The most notable was the acquisition by Teradyne (which previously acquired Universal Robots and Energid) of MiR (Mobile Industrial Robots) for $148 million with an additional $124 million predicated on very achievable milestones between now and 2020. SenseTime, a Chinese deep learning and facial recognition software provider focused on smart self-driving vehicle systems, raised $600 million in a Series C funding round led by Alibaba Group with participation by Temasek Holdings and Suning Commerce Group.

Corrindus has raised $118 million and installed 33 systems to date. Playground Global led the round, with participation from Sony Innovation Fund and existing investor Robotics Hub. Agility's two-legged Cassie robot is already deployed in 6 research institutes. Agility is planning on using Cassie for everything from deliveries to facility inspections to hazardous search-and-rescue operations.

Nineteen different startups were funded in February, raising $377 million; a substantial two-month start for the new year. Five acquisitions were reported during the month, while the IPO front had no activity whatsoever. CB Insights said that China dominated the funding of AI-related startups during 2017. So far in 2018, the China funding percentage appears to be less than the 48% of 2017. Viking Global Investors LP led the round, and was joined by investors including Perceptive Advisors and CPMG Inc.