GenAI Startups Dominate "Unicorn" Companies With Significant Growth

OpenAI, the new unicorn is called artificial intelligence. (photo: Twitter dock. openai)

JAKARTA - Companies focused on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) have become the main driving force behind the birth of many "unicorns". Unicorn companies, according to a report from venture capital firm Accel, are startups that reach a valuation of US$1 billion (Rp15.7 trillion)- of which 60% of the newborns fall into this category.

Funding for GenAI startups in Europe and Israel has reached nearly US$1 billion in the last 12 months, compared to more than US$14 billion in the US company Genai. However, this amount is slightly distorted by funding of US$10 billion (Rp157 trillion) received by OpenAI alone, the report said.

"The number is very limited from companies that attract large amounts of capital... investments that go into the basic models - we will see that decline," said Philippe Botteri, a partner at Accel.

The basic model of artificial intelligence (AI), developed by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Meta, and others, is capable of producing text, images, or other media in response to orders.

Europe, which is the basis for AI startups such as the AI Synthesia video avatar platform and AI Stability, currently has produced 50% more AI publications than the United States with similar citation rates, according to the report.

"In the future, money will be transferred more to companies like Synthesia to develop applications, then we will achieve a more normal balance where we expect a ratio of two to one (defense) between the United States and Europe," Botteri said.

At the end of the third quarter, tech giants ranging from Microsoft to Nvidia added 2.4 trillion US dollars in market capitalization over the past 12 months, driven by AI potential.

Botteri estimates that special AI applications serving cybersecurity, healthcare, construction, and law will gain more traction.