Ki financing doubled in 2021

Ki financing doubled in 2021

New York, 3/13/2022

Global AI funding more than doubled last year to $66.8 billion, up from $32.1 billion in 2020, according to CB Insights‘ State of AI 2021 Report.

Last year, funding increased 108% year-over-year, led by AI in healthcare, which accounted for 18% of the total, the agency said.

https://www.cbinsights.com/reports/CB-Insights_Artificial-Intelligence-Report-2021.pdf?

More details:

● Q4’21 was still the third largest quarter ever for deals and the second largest for financing.

► In Q4, Tiger Global Management was the most active investor in AI, backing 13 startups in three months.

●In 4Q21, DevSecOps provider Lacework reported the largest capital round, a $1.3 billion series.

►The number of AI financings continued to slow from the previous quarter.

●There were a record 311 AI M&A deals last year.

●The largest deal in the sector was PayPal’s $2.7 billion acquisition of AI BNPL provider Paidy.

►It was also a record year for AI IPOs (40) and SPACs (15).

●The average size of financing deals increased 78% in 2021 compared to 2020.

There were a dozen financing rounds in excess of $500 million in 2021, compared to just two rounds the year before.

► Another record 65 AI companies achieved unicorn status – or a valuation of more than $1 billion – in 2021, an increase of more than 44% from 2020.

The median value of deals backed by asset managers and private equity investors was USD 62 million in 2021.