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."

As Canada's tech ecosystem continues to see a rise in AI and machine learning startups -- and as the Canadian government and institutions allocate more funding towards AI research -- there's potential for Canada to become a global leader in the space. The Indeed.com report reflects a study that looked at the share of job postings and searches (per one million postings and searches) using the terms "artificial intelligence" and "machine learning" between June 2015 and June 2017. Specifically, the report looked at which cities are creating jobs in AI, and what types of AI and machine learning jobs are high in demand. "Rapid advancements in the technology behind artificial intelligence have had significant impacts on the labour market." "Rapid advancements in the technology behind artificial intelligence have had significant impacts on the labour market," said Daniel Culbertson, an economist at Indeed.com.