CBInsights-人工智能在第二季度：资金趋势，退出和企业活动（英）-2021_25页_4mb

AI Market Summary - Q2 2021

Core Content

This report from CB Insights provides an overview of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) market in Q2 2021, highlighting key trends in funding, exits, corporate activity, and methodology. It offers insights into the growth and maturity of the AI sector, focusing on the most active industries and notable companies.

Main Points

AI Funding Trends

• Record Funding: AI funding reached a record high of $20B+ across 571 deals in Q2 2021.
• Deal Count Drop: The number of deals decreased by 10% compared to the previous quarter.
• Mega-Rounds: There were 50 mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+), a new record, up more than 200% from Q2 2020.
• Top Deals:
  • Waymo received a $2.5B round.
  • Cruise Automation received a $750M round.
  • SambaNova Systems and Horizon Robotics were the largest contributors to AI processor funding, each receiving over $600M.
  • Trax raised $640M, contributing significantly to the retail & CPG sector.

AI Exits

• Record Exits: AI exits increased by 125% from the previous quarter, indicating a maturing market.
• IPOs: 2021 is already a record year for AI IPOs, with 11 in Q2 alone. UiPath, the largest AI IPO, listed at $29B.
• Notable Exits:
  • SentinelOne exited at $8.9B.
  • TuSimple listed at $8.5B.
  • Zymergen, Recursion, and Darktrace also went public, with valuations under $3B.

Corporate Activity

• Microsoft Acquires Nuance: For $19.7B, the second-largest acquisition by Microsoft after LinkedIn. This move strengthens its healthcare AI capabilities.
• IBM Acquires Turbonomic: For $2B, to enhance its hybrid cloud offerings with AI-driven network optimization.
• CVC Participation: Corporate venture capital (CVC) participation in AI deals remained stable at 35%, up slightly from 31% in Q1 2021.

Industry-Specific Deal Share

• Healthcare: Dominated AI deal share with 17% of all deals, accounting for 96 equity rounds.
• Transportation: Despite representing only 7% of deals, it accounted for over 20% of total AI funding.
• AI Processors: Received significant funding, with SambaNova and Horizon Robotics leading the way.
• Retail & CPG: Experienced a 140% increase in funding compared to the previous quarter, driven by Trax's $640M round.
• Agriculture: BOWERY raised $300M in a Series C round, focusing on AI in agriculture.

Geographical Deal Share

• United States: Continued to be the leading AI hub, accounting for 41% of all deals, up 39% YoY.
• China: Second to the US, with a slight increase in deal share from 17% in Q1 2021.
• Canada: Edged out Japan to become a top 5 AI hub.

Corporate Engagement with AI

• Top Corporations Discussing AI: Nvidia, AppLovin, RadNet, and Google were the most active in discussing AI-related strategies on earnings calls.
• Private Market Relationships: Corporations like Microsoft, Munich RE, Snowflake, Oracle, EY, INCRAM, Carrier, and Amazon have established significant relationships with AI startups in various sectors.

Key Information

• New AI Unicorns: 24 new AI unicorns emerged in Q2 2021, surpassing the previous record of 18 in Q1 2021.
• Sector Leaders: Cybersecurity and AI processors led the unicorn wave, with 4 new unicorns each.
• Focus Areas: AI startups are increasingly focused on SaaS, core product development with AI algorithms, and hardware for AI workloads.
• Methodology:
  • Funding Analysis: Only equity rounds are considered, including corporate minority rounds and convertible notes. Debt rounds are excluded.
  • Exit Analysis: Only the first exit is counted, excluding unit acquisitions and public-to-private (P2P) exits. Reverse mergers are included under IPOs once the deal is closed.

Conclusion

The AI market in Q2 2021 showed strong growth and a shift towards more mature investments. While early-stage deal share declined, mid- and late-stage deals increased, indicating a maturing sector. Major exits and acquisitions by tech giants like Microsoft and IBM highlight the increasing integration of AI into corporate strategies. The report also emphasizes the importance of corporate venture capital and the growing role of AI in various industries.