With tech giants pouring billions of dollars into artificial intelligence projects, it's hard to see how startups can find their place and create successful business models that leverage AI. However, while fiercely competitive, the AI space is also constantly causing fundamental shifts in many sectors. And this creates the perfect environment for fast-thinking and -moving startups to carve a niche for themselves before the big players move in. Last week, technology analysis firm CB Insights published an update on the status of its list of top 100 AI startups of 2020 (in case you don't know, CB Insight publishes a list of 100 most promising AI startups every year). Out of the hundred startups, four have made exits, with three going public and one being acquired by Facebook.

Fascination with AI shows no sign of abating in Europe. While established companies may still be slow to pick the technology up, new start-ups in the sector continue to grow – in France by as much as 38% this year already. There is also no shortage of investment, with $4bn pumped into the sector globally in Q3 compared to $2.8bn in the same period last year, while the UK continues to set the research and development standard in Europe with 623 AI-related patents. It's often said numbers like this are not intended to discourage entrepreneurs, but to motivate them to work smarter and harder. Unfortunately, it's more than just hard work that sets a company up for success – and for those who are looking to scale up their AI venture, the best lessons to be learned can be drawn from those who've been in the same position – and thrived.

AI is in full gold rush mode. Every day we hear headlines of AI companies raising vast sums of capital to give them the resources to prospect the veins of AI gold. The money is flowing to these new frontiers. In the US venture capital funding for AI grew 72% year over year to a whopping $9.3B in 2018. Dataminr, a New York based AI and machine learning company that makes sense of news and information in real time, raised US$392 million in 2018, for example.

AI is in full gold rush mode. Every day we hear headlines of AI companies raising vast sums of capital to give them the resources to prospect the veins of AI gold. The money is flowing to these new frontiers. In the US venture capital funding for AI grew 72% year over year to a whopping $9.3B in 2018. Dataminr, a New York based AI and machine learning company that makes sense of news and information in real time, raised US$392 million in 2018, for example.