The first iPhone came out in June 2007, and now 84% of Americans own a smartphone and many can’t imagine a world without them.
While Apple Inc. AAPL didn’t make the first smartphone, it was the device that catapulted the technology to its modern-day success, quickly selling millions of units and becoming a worldwide talking point. In the last 16 years, computers have gotten smaller, faster and can do just about anything all while sitting in the palm of one's hand.
The release of ChatGPT is quickly bringing the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) to the forefront. The release of ChatGPT might just have been the “iPhone moment” for the world of AI. It’s reshaping school curriculums and policy, replacing and improving jobs and is already a household name. ChatGPT isn’t the first company to do what it’s doing, but it is what is taking the world of AI mainstream.
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Venture capitalists (VCs) especially are taking notice and dumping billions into AI startups. When VCs take notice and begin funding certain sectors, mainstream adoption comes shortly after. For example, blockchain adoption saw a meteoric rise in the past few years, with 2021 seeing billions in non-fungible token (NFT) sales volume, hundreds of new games and thousands of new cryptocurrencies. In 2020, funding for Web3 startups was at $4.8 billion, in 2021 it was nearly $30 billion. In 2022, in line with an overall decline in VC funding, it was $21.5 billion.
Retail investors also have been investing substantial amounts in AI startups.
RAD AI is a startup raising on Wefunder, which means anyone can invest for a limited time. More than 2,400 retail investors have invested over $2.5 million into RAD. On its Wefunder page, RAD says it is the “world’s first AI marketing platform built to understand emotion” and is used by some of the largest companies in the world.
On StartEngine, there are currently more than nine AI startups launched, with some of the most notable being WeatherFlow-Tempest raising over $800,000 and WiGl raising over $2.37 million.
MaxTracker is a startup raising on StartEngine and has raised over $54,000 for its tracker that uses AI that can distinguish between events. For example, it uses AI to distinguish between a car being broken into vs. hit with a soccer ball, or a bike being stolen vs. being knocked down.
AI has the tell-tale signs of being the next big industry, and it seems investors are taking notice. As the industry — and funding — continue to ramp up it’s likely this is only the beginning of what AI has to offer.
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