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Mapped: The Number of AI Startups By Country

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See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Map showing top countries by number of AI startups funded since 2013

Mapped: The Number of AI Startups By Country

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Amidst the recent expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), we’ve visualized data from Quid (accessed via Stanford’s 2024 AI Index Report) to highlight the top 15 countries which have seen the most AI startup activity over the past decade.

The figures in this graphic represent the number of newly funded AI startups within that country, in the time period of 2013 to 2023. Only companies that received over $1.5 million in private investment were considered.

 

 

Data and Highlights

The following table lists all of the numbers featured in the above graphic.

RankGeographic areaNumber of newly funded
AI startups (2013-2023)
1🇺🇸 United States5,509
2🇨🇳 China1,446
3🇬🇧 United Kingdom727
4🇮🇱 Israel442
5🇨🇦 Canada397
6🇫🇷 France391
7🇮🇳 India338
8🇯🇵 Japan333
9🇩🇪 Germany319
10🇸🇬 Singapore193
11🇰🇷 South Korea189
12🇦🇺 Australia147
13🇨🇭 Switzerland123
14🇸🇪 Sweden94
15🇪🇸 Spain94

From this data, we can see that the U.S., China, and UK have established themselves as major hotbeds for AI innovation.

In terms of funding, the U.S. is massively ahead, with private AI investment totaling $335 billion between 2013 to 2023. AI startups in China raised $104 billion over the same timeframe, while those in the UK raised $22 billion.

Further analysis reveals that the U.S. is widening this gap even more. In 2023, for example, private investment in the U.S. grew by 22% from 2022 levels. Meanwhile, investment fell in China (-44%) and the UK (-14.1%) over the same time span.

 

 

Where is All This Money Flowing To?

Quid also breaks down total private AI investment by focus area, providing insight into which sectors are receiving the most funding.

Focus AreaGlobal Investment in 2023
(USD billions)
🤖 AI infrastructure, research,
and governance
$18.3
🗣️ Natural language
processing
$8.1
📊 Data management$5.5
⚕️ Healthcare$4.2
🚗 Autonomous vehicles$2.7
💰 Fintech$2.1
⚛️ Quantum computing$2.0
🔌 Semiconductor$1.7
⚡ Energy, oil, and gas$1.5
🎨 Creative content$1.3
📚 Education$1.2
📈 Marketing$1.1
🛸 Drones$1.0
🔒 Cybersecurity$0.9
🏭 Manufacturing$0.9
🛒 Retail$0.7
🕶️ AR/VR$0.7
🛡️ Insurtech$0.6
🎬 Entertainment$0.5
💼 VC$0.5
🌾 Agritech$0.5
⚖️ Legal tech$0.4
👤 Facial recognition$0.3
🌐 Geospatial$0.2
💪 Fitness and wellness$0.2

Attracting the most money is AI infrastructure, research, and governance, which refers to startups that are building AI applications (like OpenAI’s ChatGPT).

The second biggest focus area is natural language processing (NLP), which is a type of AI that enables computers to understand and interpret human language. This technology has numerous use cases for businesses, particularly in financial services, where NLP can power customer support chatbots and automated wealth advisors.

With $8 billion invested into NLP-focused startups during 2023, investors appear keenly aware of this technology’s transformative potential.

Learn More About AI From Visual Capitalist

If you enjoyed this graphic, be sure to check out Visualizing AI Patents by Country.

 

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