AI Tech Attracts $10T in Funding

The last three months of 2020 alone saw $9.7 trillion in funding raised by 440 global AI-related tech companies. AI development is no longer something we dream of in science fiction but rather technology that is infiltrating every sector of the economy. The funding to propel this idea into reality is not slowing down. Here are the top 10 AI tech startups that raised the most funds in the last three months of 2020, half of which have headquarters outside of the US. 

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1. Zuoyebang, founded in 2014 in Beijing, China, is an online education application for K1-12 students. It received a $1.6BN Round E of funding from Alibaba, Softbank, and others. 
2. Relativity Space hails from Inglewood, California, and is an aerospace company that designs, develops, and builds 3D printed rockets. It closed a $500MM Round D series of funding led by Tiger Global Management. 
3. TuSimple raised a $350MM Round E of funding led by VectoIQ LLC. The San Diego-based company makes it possible for long-haul trucks to operate autonomously on highways and surface roads and was founded in 2015. 
4. DuerOS, an AI speech and image recognition division of Baidu from Beijing, China, raised close to $300MM in a Round A of funding. 
5. DataRobot is an automated machine learning platform that helps deploy predictive models and create AI applications for enterprises to easily adopt and use the technology. It was founded in Boston in 2012 and received equity funding of $300MM, led by VC Altimeter Capital, in November 2020.
6. SentinelOne is a cybersecurity tech startup that protects servers and devices against malware and threats, enabling organizations to defend against cyber threats. The Mountain View, California-based company was founded in 2013 and raised a $267MM Round F of funding in November 2020. 
7. Pony.ai is a full-stack autonomous driving technology developer headquartered in Fremont, California. The company raised $267MM in equity funding led by Teachers’ Private Capital.
8. Olive AI is an AI platform for healthcare, supporting healthcare by using AI technology to improve operations, including billing, patient verification, and other automation tasks. The Columbus, Ohio-based company raised equity funding of $225MM led by Tiger Global Management.
9. Graphcore develops AI computer chips that accelerate machine learning applications and was founded in 2012. The company, headquartered in Briston, UK, raised a $222MM Round E of funding led by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. 
10. CARS24 is a Guaragon India-based company that specializes in a tech-enabled marketplace for pre-owned cars. The company raised a $220MM Round E of funding led by DST Global.