As demand increases for artificial intelligence in the categories of gaming, data analysis, and finance, there are a range of AI-focused startups, including Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), that investors should keep their eyes peeled for.
First, it's important to understand that the applications of such technology span more than just grandiose, industrial notions. AI is reaching a point where its effects can be felt on an individual scale. For instance, many smartphones now have AI chips in them that help facilitate facial recognition features while making other processes in the phone more efficient. The iPhone X has a Neural Engine as part of its A11 Bionic chip; the Huawei Kiri 970 chip has what's called a Neural Processing Unit or NPU on it; and the Pixel 2 has a secret AI-powered imaging chip that just got activated.
AI's increasing relevance, highlighted mainly by the fact that Venture Capitalists have invested around $7.6 billion into it in the first nine months of 2017, is further manifested in the fact that the volume of data available these days is simply enormous. With tech behemoths like Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) gaining traction in populous places like China, data analysis and synthesis is a process that cannot be avoided and must be completed efficiently.
An AI startup called Cerebras Systems obtained funding of about $25 million from Benchmark Capital in December last year. Graphcore, which doesn't even have a tangible product on the market yet, announced a new $50 million financing round in November this year led by Sequoia Capital, shortly after a $30 million financing round in July led by Atomico. Alibaba itself has invested in a startup called Cambricon Technology, which is reportedly valued at $1 billion. Cambricon develops AI chips similar to the ones being used in smartphones these days. Intel Capital also led a $100 million investment in Horizon Robotics as well as a startup called ThinkForce raised $68 million earlier this month.
Groq, a startup established by former Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) engineers, raised around $10 million from Social+Capital, significantly less than other startups. Mythic, which is also an AI chip manufacturer, has raised $9.3 million in financing.
The very fact that many employees and great minds working for the big names have branched out to form their own AI-based companies is testament to the notion that it is an up and coming field investors should closely monitor. This, coupled with the idea that many social media sites like Snapchat are slowly losing traction with young people, amplifies the appeal of artificial intelligence further.
Nvidia is still a clear leader in this area, and will probably only continue to gain traction as the development of autonomous vehicles continues. But smaller startups may have a chance to compete in 2018.