Among all emerging technologies, payments technology commands the highest investors-to-idea ratio while artificial intelligence had attracted the largest number of investors last year.

Companies working in the payments segment held the top position with a 2.4 investors-to-idea ratio in 2018, riding on the back of an expanding payment solutions ecosystem. Mobile payments, digital transactions, cryptocurrency and digital wallets were gaining traction, according to a report by GlobalData, a data analytics company. 

Payments technology is also ahead of other emerging technologies on average deal size front. Its leadership position on average deal value is driven by a $14 billion funding received by the Chinese payments major Ant Financial Services, the parent company for Alipay. Some of the other key funded companies in the payments segment include Bitmain Technologies, Revolut, Coinbase and Tradeshift.

AI Attracted Largest Number Of Investors

With an array of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies waiting to be birthed, more than 1,900 investors funded 1,000 AI-based companies in 2018. Some of the key funded companies working in the AI space include Horizon Robotics, Beijing SenseTime, Zoox, Yitu Technology and Pony.ai.

«With expanding technology-driven disruption across industries, we expect further growth in disruptive tech companies’ funding in coming years. These technologies will play a central role in the companies’ future strategies, with early adopters likely to emerge as winners,» said Aurojyoti Bose, financial deals analyst at GlobalData. 

However, AI had the lowest investors-to-idea ratio (number of venture capital investors / number of funded companies) among emerging technologies, GlobalData noted.