An article to understand the current development and investment and financing of the AI ​​track

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is rising at lightning speed and becoming a catalyst for global economic change.

1. The rise of AI technology and industry changes

With the rapid development of AI technology and its integration into society, we are experiencing changes at an unprecedented speed. Although we are still in the early stages of development, the speed at which AI is developing and the extent to which it is integrated into society suggest that the changes we are about to experience will be unprecedented. According to PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey, nearly one-third of business organizations worldwide have adopted AI technology since its emergence, with 70% of CEOs saying they expect GenAI to In the next three years, we will significantly change the way the group creates content, delivers products, and captures and enhances corporate value.

The potential of AI combined with various industries is huge. The inference of AI’s economic impact on the industry says that if in a specific industry, the top five AI Use cases (specific application scenarios) can create more than 50% of the total value generated by the industry, so the combination of facial expression AI technology and the industry not only has practical significance, but also has high development potential and commercial value, which is worthy of further development. Pioneering exploration and investment.

1. In the computer industry, especially in software development, GenAI coding assistant can greatly improve productivity and corporate profits. This is achieved through a new paradigm of human-machine collaboration, with GenAI responsible for generating most of the code content, while the programmer’s energy will be focused on providing direction guidance, as well as focusing on the quality control of the overall documentation and detailed adjustments to the code.

2. In the luxury goods industry, GenAI can provide super products for different customers by analyzing the historical purchase data, browsing content and personal preferences of luxury buyers. Personalized marketing services. Especially in the luxury goods industry, more emphasis is placed on the quality of customer service, that is, differentiated customized services, which is also an important driving factor in pleasing customers and thereby increasing revenue.

3. In the biomedical industry, the application of AI deserves special attention. In terms of breakthroughs in biological research, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Beyoncé Frederick, Alfred Debs and Peter Hago for their research on protein folding using artificial intelligence. Their research has significantly advanced the biological sciences, particularly in understanding and predicting protein structure. On specific application terminals, StabilityAI applies AI technology to radiology films to assist doctors in judging the results of the films. and Zebra Medical Vision, a company that uses AI technology for medical image analysis. The AI ​​technology products they provide can help doctors make more efficient and accurate diagnoses of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and pneumonia.

2. Recent major events in the global AI field

< strong>1. China’s AI users exceed 600 million, and the scale of the artificial intelligence industry maintains rapid growth, containing new industry opportunities

CCTV October 13 According to a Japanese report, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that the number of registered users of China’s large-scale generative artificial intelligence service model exceeds 600 million. Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the scale of my country's core artificial intelligence industry is constantly increasing, with the number of companies exceeding 4,500, and more than 200 large generative artificial intelligence service models that have been registered and launched online.

2. ChatGPT releases a major update - ChatGPT Canvas

The Canvas updated this time is a brand new interactive interface, which aims to make AI better understand the needs of users. Users can edit and improve the AI's output on Canvas, just like having a professional copy editor or code reviewer beside them.

Currently, Canvas is open to ChatGPT Plus and Team users, and Enterprise and Edu users will also gain access next week.

3. OpenAI completed a round of financing of US$6.6 billion, and the company’s valuation soared to hundreds of billions

On October 2, 2024, OpenAI completed a US$6.6 billion round of financing, which caused the company's valuation to soar to US$157 billion. In this financing, Thrive Capital served as the lead investor, and Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank and other companies also participated in the investment, of which Microsoft invested approximately US$750 million. This financing took the form of convertible notes, which also marked OpenAI’s transformation into a for-profit company.

4. Google is developing new AI software to simulate human reasoning capabilities

Google is developing a new type of artificial intelligence software designed to simulate human reasoning capabilities to solve complex problems in fields such as mathematics and computer programming. The core of this technology is that it enables the AI ​​system to think deeply and reason when dealing with problems, thereby arriving at more accurate and effective solutions. This technology is similar to OpenAI’s o1, both of which are dedicated to improving AI’s reasoning and problem-solving capabilities.

5. Google will invest US$1 billion in Thailand to establish an AI data center

In addition to Google, companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon are also actively investing in Southeast Asia, investing billions of dollars in building artificial intelligence data centers in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to strengthen these Tech giants’ cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

3. Entrepreneurship trends and investment trends in the AI ​​era

Entrepreneurs in the current AI era have become younger, more elite, and have smaller teams. On average, each entrepreneurial team only has about 5-10 people. And most of them are born in famous universities and companies born after 1995, and the proportion of Chinese among them is quite high, accounting for about 30-40%. In the North American AI industry, Chinese basically hold up half of the sky.

Entrepreneurial teams in Silicon Valley will be more inclined to sell products rather than large models, and believe that an in-depth understanding of business scenarios is crucial; while venture capital The team (VC) will be more inclined to invest in ToB scenarios, and the commercialization requirements for AI entrepreneurship will become higher. However, VC investment in the AI ​​​​track is very active, and there are many companies investing in it. YC supported 300 companies in the first phase, which is a very large number. It is these increasingly active angel investments, early investments, and VCs that provide very important soil for the AI ​​entrepreneurial environment in Silicon Valley.

In the first half of 2024, the total financing amount of the global AIGC industry reached 138.4 billion yuan, and a total of 363 investment events occurred. The total financing amount increased by 23.3% compared with the same period last year ( US$15.8 billion in 2023), and the number of financings surged 307.9% (89 times in 2023).

Globally, the investment performance of major manufacturers: Microsoft's investment in the AIGC field has reached a cumulative US$10 billion, which occupies a leading position among all companies. . Amazon follows closely behind with a cumulative investment of $4 billion. Google ranks third, with a cumulative investment of US$2.5 billion. Domestic major manufacturers are also following closely behind, closely arranging investment and development: Alibaba's cumulative investment in the AIGC track is US$1.5 billion. As China's leading Internet service provider, Tencent's cumulative investment in the AIGC track is US$400 million, which reflects the company's expansion of AI technology applications in multiple fields such as games, social media, and content creation.

In the first half of 2024, the investment institutional layout of the AIGC track is very active. In terms of the number of financings, three investment institutions, Lux Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Andreessen Horowitz, completed 6 investments and tied for the top spot among overseas active investment institutions. Overseas individual investors have frequently invested in AIGC track companies, completing 20 investments in the first half of the year alone.

In terms of investment amount, a total of 19 overseas institutions have invested more than US$200 million in the first half of 2024. Compared with the 9 overseas institutions with investment exceeding 1 billion in 2023, it shows that the enthusiasm of institutions for AIGC is gradually increasing. Among them, Amazon leads with approximately US$3 billion, and Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital invest approximately US$1 billion and 900 million respectively, ranking second and third.

4. AI market trends - multi-modal development and application

AI technology is developing in the direction of multi-modality , through products such as Vincent Video, Vincent Music, Tush Video, Tush Music and other products, AI is learning to perceive and understand the world more comprehensively. The multi-modal development of this technology enables AI to get closer to human perception and cognitive methods, thereby playing a greater role in more fields.

Judging from the general trends in the first half of 2024, chatbots, as one of the most practical and popular functions in the field of artificial intelligence, have a very strong development momentum. In the past six months, the chatbot's user base and application scenarios have achieved significant growth, and the overall number of visits has doubled. At the same time, the two vertical directions of smart search and graphic design have also shown stable market demand, and the number of visits has fluctuated steadily in the past six months. In the direction of emotional companionship, although the current user base is not large, its growth trend is very stable. As people pay more and more attention to spiritual companionship and mental health, emotional companionship products provide services such as chatting, listening, and emotion analysis through avatars, and are gradually becoming an important channel for users to seek emotional support.

Summary

With the continuous advancement of AI technology and the expansion of application fields, the future prospects of AI applications are full of hope. From chatbots to emotional companionship products, AI is being integrated into people's daily lives in various ways, bringing convenience and innovation to society. Entrepreneurs and investors in the AI ​​era are working together to promote this change, and each of us will be a witness and participant in this change. The development of AI will not only change the way we work, but also change our lifestyle, allowing us to look forward to a more intelligent and convenient future.