Big Tech Dumped $17 Billion Into AI Companies in 2023 Despite Frozen Market – The Messenger

Tech industry giants poured billions of dollars into artificial intelligence startups this year, far outpacing the amount of investment from venture capitalists, the more traditional source of funding for fledging businesses.

Microsoft, Google and Amazon collectively invested two-thirds of the $27 billion raised by generative artificial intelligence startups in 2023, according to data from Pitchbook, which tracks startup investments.

The investment surge from those established companies reflects the unusual moment in Silicon Valley. AI startups are a rare hot spot in an otherwise ice-cold market, and the cost to develop that technology is incredibly steep. Venture capitalists, meanwhile, aren't playing as prominent a role in the boom as they have in opening eras of other technology waves, like the mobile web and cloud computing. So firms like Microsoft and Amazon have stepped into the role vacated by the VCs, eager to secure lucrative stakes in the startups and intertwine their own AI development with the startups that they invest in.

Notable deals from the last year include Microsofts $10 billion investment in OpenAI and the over $7 billion raised by its chief rival, Anthropic, from Amazon and Google, among others.

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Big Tech Dumped $17 Billion Into AI Companies in 2023 Despite Frozen Market - The Messenger