As Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to experience a surge in popularity, investors in the global startup ecosystem are competing to seize the hottest, up-and-coming startups that are working on solutions in the field.
As we go through the first half of 2023, e27 recently published a list of investors that have invested in AI startups in SEA.
From this list alone, we can look at several notable trends that we can compile into the following list:
1. Global investors are eyeing SEA
The most outstanding part about these AI investors is the fact that many of them are global venture capital firms from the notable startup ecosystem in the world, such as the US. All of them see potential in SEA as one of the fastest-growing regions in the world.
Notable names included Darwin Ventures, RTP Global and Harbinger Ventures.
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2. These investors have a high focus on the consumer sector
Harbinger Ventures is an example of such a VC firm. It focuses on identifying and scaling high-growth companies in the consumer sector. It works exclusively with early-stage consumer brands led by exceptional female founders or mixed-gender founder founding teams and incentivises collaboration amongst its portfolio companies by giving each entrepreneur an equity stake in the portfolio.
3. Working in the deep tech and life sciences sector
There are at least two notable VC firms that are focusing on the deep tech and life sciences sectors.
Lunar Ventures is a deep-tech, seed-stage venture fund with a team of three deep-tech expert partners in Berlin. It writes a cheque of EUR300,000 to EUR1 million (US$325,000 to US$1.8 million) to technical teams with strong R&D backgrounds who build European products that will sell globally.
Another contender is Biospring Partners which invests in companies with the potential to “fundamentally shift how technology is utilised across the life sciences sector.” Biospring invests in growth-stage B2B companies driving innovation across the life sciences industry and beyond.
4. A great variety of focus in terms of stages
All the VC firms are investing in various stages of companies. While early stage startup investment continues to remain popular for AI startups in SEA, several VC firms are eyeing growth and late stage companies instead. For companies that are working in the deep tech and life sciences sectors, this is a reasonable approach as it allows potential investors to look at the viability of the technology over a longer period.
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Will this trend continue?
Our interpretation is ‘yes’, at least for the remainder of the year. If we compare to popular verticals from last years, such as Web3, there is a possibility that Gen AI and related solutions will have a stronger staying power in the market. This is due to its ability to prove to the wider public its benefits and advantages, which include its wide use cases.
We might even see local and regional investors looking more into the segment to seize opportunities in this sector.
How exactly can startups seize this opportunity? The good news about AI is that it is versatile in its use. Even companies that are working in sectors outside of AI have the opportunity to implement the technology in their solutions.
In addition to investment, this also means more opportunities for tech talents with an understanding of AI technologies in the near future. Startups will look towards expanding their teams, and this often means they might seek the support of their investors.
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Image Credit: Hitesh Choudhary on Unsplash
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