The United States of Artificial Intelligence Startups
Startups across 39 US states are applying artificial intelligence tech across industries like marketing, healthcare, retail, and more.
Funding to artificial intelligence startups is soaring. Last year, VCs invested a record $9.3B into US AI startups — more than 8x funding levels just 5 years ago ($1.1B in 2013).
In 2018, the top 3 states for AI deals were California (48% of deals), New York (12%), and Massachusetts (9%), though investors have bet on AI startups across the country.
Using the CB Insights database, we mapped out the top-funded AI startup in every US state.
Collectively, these startups have raised over $5B, with leading companies such as Butterfly Network (Connecticut, $350M in total disclosed equity funding), Welltok (Colorado, $339M), and InsideSales.com (Utah, $264M).
Our analysis looked at equity funding to private, VC-backed AI startups that have had an equity deal in the last 5 years. We exclude funding from debt, loans, and lines of credit.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The most well-funded US artificial intelligence startup is Nuro, with over $1B in disclosed equity funding (as of 03/13/2019), including a $940M Series B from SoftBank. The California-based startup is developing autonomous vehicles, with a focus on last-mile delivery.
- Nuro is followed by Illinois’ Avant ($655M) and Massachusetts’ Indigo Agriculture ($617M).
- There are 7 unicorn startups on our map: agtech startup Indigo Agriculture ($3.5B valuation), Nuro ($2.7B), alternative lending startup Avant ($1.9B), AI-powered predictive sales acceleration platform InsideSales.com ($1.7B), salestech startup Afiniti ($1.6B), healthcare startup Butterfly Network ($1.3B), and data analytics company Dataminr ($1.2B).
- 12 startups on the map have raised over $100M in disclosed equity funding. They include cybersecurity company StackPath ($180M) and fintech companies Opera Solutions ($122M) & Petuum ($108M).
- 29 startups on this list have raised <$10M in equity funding. The startup with the least funding on the list is Rhode Island’s The Innovation Scout, a SaaS platform that has raised $50K.
| State | Company | Total Equity Funding ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Cyr3con | 1.5 |
| Arkansas | Info Assembly | 0.2 |
| California | Nuro | 1,032.0 |
| Colorado | Welltok | 339.4 |
| Connecticut | Butterfly Network | 350.0 |
| DC | Afiniti | 101.5 |
| Delaware | ICM Hub | 3.1 |
| Florida | Kairos | 14.5 |
| Georgia | Bastille Networks | 40.0 |
| Illinois | Avant | 655.0 |
| Indiana | SmarterHQ | 37.8 |
| Iowa | IDx Technologies | 43.0 |
| Kansas | RiskGenius | 8.0 |
| Kentucky | Lucina Health | 24.5 |
| Louisiana | Zlien | 17.2 |
| Maryland | Protenus | 19.2 |
| Massachusetts | Indigo Agriculture | 616.5 |
| Michigan | May Mobility | 37.1 |
| Minnesota | Inspectorio | 13.8 |
| Missouri | Benson Hill Biosystems | 94.2 |
| Nevada | Clone Algo | 40.0 |
| New Hampshire | ArtBnk | 2.6 |
| New Jersey | Opera Solutions | 122.2 |
| New Mexico | Descartes Labs | 38.3 |
| New York | Dataminr | 569.2 |
| North Carolina | Somnoware | 12.5 |
| Ohio | Wiretap | 11.1 |
| Oklahoma | iRecommend Software | 1.9 |
| Oregon | Lytics | 58.3 |
| Pennsylvania | Petuum | 108.0 |
| Rhode Island | The Innovation Scout | 0.05 |
| South Carolina | ENGAGE Talent | 5.4 |
| Tennessee | Digital Reasoning Systems | 105.6 |
| Texas | StackPath | 180.0 |
| Utah | InsideSales.com | 264.3 |
| Vermont | Faraday | 5.5 |
| Virginia | Binary Fountain | 89.7 |
| Washington | Icertis | 96.5 |
| Wisconsin | EnsoData | 2.1 |
This study was conducted by CBInsights and originially appeared here.
Take Back Your Day
Learn how the latest technologies can free up your time so you can focus on your business