We take a look at Q1’20 funding trends, areas of focus, and valuation data for China-based AI startups.
China-based AI startups saw deals slide in Q1’20, as Covid-19 peaked and investors shifted their focus on later-stage bets.
Despite the market volatility wrought by the virus, China invested heavily in AI infrastructure to combat Covid-19. Tech giants like Alibaba and Baidu stepped up to hone diagnostics tools and virus analysis algorithms; and AI heavyweight SenseTime deployed contactless temperature detection software as well as a biometric identification system for people wearing masks.
Below, we spotlight funding trends in the China AI space, top areas of investor focus, and the most well-funded AI startups in the country.
Funding trends
AI startups in China saw financing jump by 63% QoQ with $545M raised — nearly half of all AI financing in Asia in the first quarter of the year. This increase comes after an 81% rundown since Q3’17, but funding is still down 59% YoY. Deal count hit a 3 year low, with 52 deals.
Seed-stage deal share plunged to an all-time low of 13% in Q1, underscoring the effort to double down on later-stage bets. Mid-stage deal share also surpassed early-stage in Q1’20 to reach 50% of all deals.
Areas of focusThe areas that have garnered the most investor attention over the past 5 years are: speech/NLP(G)/computer vision, which has garnered $6.1B across 163 deals; finance and insurance, with $1.3B spanning 88 deals; and healthcare, which has raised $585M across 102 deals.....MUCH MORE
