AI Agents Attract Funding, Aim to Transform Industries

Artificial intelligence agents have reportedly caught the attention of tech investors, leading to a surge in funding for startups focused on building them.

The interest from tech investors highlights the potential of AI agents to transform industries and create new opportunities, CNBC reported Friday (June 7).

AI agents are software programs that can perform tasks and make decisions based on their environment, inputs and predefined goals.

While chatbots and generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT have paved the way, AI agents may offer a more powerful and productive solution, according to the report.

The introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022 marked a turning point in the development of generative AI chatbots, per the report. Compared to traditional search engines, ChatGPT offered more comprehensive, creative and conversational answers to web queries. The breakthrough triggered a wave of innovation, pushing the industry beyond text responses and into AI-generated photos and videos.

AI agents are built for productivity and task completion and may possess the ability to make decisions autonomously, making them valuable tools in various business functions, the report said.

Tech investors have shown increased interest in startups focused on building AI agents. These startups have collectively raised hundreds of millions of dollars and witnessed a surge in valuations, according to the report.

The broader generative AI market has experienced exponential growth, with $29.1 billion invested across nearly 700 deals in 2023 alone, a 260% increase from the previous year, the report said.

The surge in investment reflects the potential of AI agents to disrupt industries and create new opportunities, per the report. AI agents have the potential to revolutionize numerous industries by automating complex tasks and enabling users to delegate responsibilities.

For example, financial services company Klarna reported that its AI agent, powered by OpenAI, took over two-thirds of customer chats and performed work equivalent to 700 full-time agents within a month of use.

Microsoft, Google and other tech giants are actively developing AI agents to enhance productivity, according to the report. Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Project Astra and OpenAI’s ChatGPT showcase the potential of AI agents as conversationalists, language translators, math tutors and code co-writers.

AI agent startups have attracted investments with valuations ahead of their business fundamentals, the report said. Companies like Adept, H and Artisan AI have secured funding from investors.

However, experts caution that AI agents are still in the early stages of development and adoption, per the report. AI agents must demonstrate improvements and establish trust before they can become mainstream.

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