Has global investment in AI and machine learning technologies peaked?
www.eetasia.com, Aug. 17, 2021 –
Has global investment in AI and machine learning technologies peaked?
Our colleague Peter Clarke, compiler of the annual Silicon 100 Startups Worth Watching, suspects that's the case as AI startups fall short of early promises or are snapped up by established chip makers.
"We have about 25 or 29 AI companies on the list, who all think they are going to win the market either in the data center space, some of the bigger chips and the more expensive startups [that] are shooting for the data center business," Clarke noted during a recent EE Times podcast.
"Many others say they're going to do AI at the edge," Clarke added. "History tells us there's going to be one or two victors in each space. These other companies, I'm afraid, will miss out in one way or another."
A potential winner, at least in the current AI funding sweepstakes, is Palo Alto-based SambaNova Systems Inc. The Silicon 100 listee recently announced a $676 million venture funding round led by Softbank. According to the web site Techcrunch,com, SambaNova has so far raised $1.1 billion, and claims a market valuation in the neighborhood of $5 billion.