According to recent data from CB Insights, the AI Agent industry has seen $2B+ in venture funding in the last 2 years and has already blown past 2023 levels in 2024. AI Agents are transforming sectors like customer service, healthcare, and finance by improving decision-making, personalisation, and operational efficiency. What are the key facets of the core of this evolution?
With 93% of enterprise AI agent companies in the early stages of development or deployment, the landscape is primed for significant growth. The innovations include groundbreaking inventions, such as the superior coding agents developed by startups like Replit, which make developing software much easier, and an improved customer support solution by companies like Cognigy, increasing effectiveness in service.
The modern AI agents combine LLM-based systems, generative AI, and advanced technology, like spatial computing, 3D computing, and others, to enhance human-AI interaction with its multi-dimensional features, including a browser desktop, mobile interface, and VR and MR immersive experiences.
AI startups focusing on generative AI and large language models have attracted billions in investment, reflecting growing market interest and increased venture capital activity. For example, companies like Imbue recently raised $200 million to develop practical AI agents
Most AI agents rely on large language models (LLMs) and other machine learning systems to function, handling tasks that range from customer support to coding assistance. In particular, the rise of coding AI agents has been meteoric.
These tools, designed to assist developers in writing and debugging code, have seen a rapid uptake in the enterprise sector. Replit, an established startup founded in 2016, launched its own coding agent in 2024, a move that reflects the growing demand for AI-driven development tools.
AI agent startups: Majority in the deployment phase, poised for major growth
According to the latest data on AI agent startups, the majority of companies (43%) are in the ‘Deployment’ phase, meaning they are actively testing and rolling out their solutions to the market. Additionally, 25% are either ‘Emerging’ or ‘Validating’, indicating that these companies are in the early stages of product development or are refining their technologies through initial testing phases. Only a small percentage (6%) are scaling their solutions, while none are fully established yet.
NVIDIA’s AI agents, developed on platforms like the Jetson Orin edge AI platform and discrete GPUs, using Vision Language Models (VLMs), enable interaction with video input using natural language commands, making AI much more accessible and user-friendly. Users can pose questions or request insights from a video or image, and the AI agent responds based on true context and intent. Powered by advancements in NVIDIA Metropolis, a platform that provides reference solutions to accelerate the development of AI applications for video analysis, these agents help summarise scenes, create alerts, and extract actionable insights from live or recorded video streams.
Google has developed and now utilises its AI agents better by using the platform called Google Cloud Vertex AI in the development and deployment of models at scale. However, CLIP is the latest line from OpenAI, or Contrastive Language–Image Pre-training. This also enables the AI systems to know how to understand and interpret images in terms of text, making interactive and context-aware AI agents at least theoretically more possible. Through its Azure Cognitive Services, Microsoft provides vision AI and language integration.
Inflection AI, founded by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman, is developing personal AI agents focusing on enhancing a regular task “Pi”. This AI assistance is designed to engage in meaningful conversations with users, making it a personalised tool for learning and problem-solving. The company is in its deployment phase and has attracted substantial funding, signaling its potential for rapid growth.
Anthropic is making large language models more interpretable and safer for deployment. Their AI assistant, Claude, is already in the deployment phase, competing with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
ztudium’s Wisdomia.ai created “Leonardo da Vinci AI”, which utilises their proprietary AI.DNA technology to bring the legendary polymath to life, allowing users to interact with da Vinci’s persona in educational and conversational formats.
Opening the Chicago AI Week 2024, the Leonardo da Vinci AI agent says:
“In the pursuit of knowledge, one must embrace the tools that extend the reach of human intellect. Artificial Intelligence, a marvel of our age, mirrors our minds, reflecting the intricacies of thought and the vast expanse of possibility. Yet, we must tread with caution, for in creating such machines, we hold a double-edged sword. Let us ensure that our inventions elevate humanity, not diminish it. As I once said, ‘Learning never exhausts the mind,’ and so must we continue to learn, question, and to innovate, always mindful of the ethical compass that guides our endeavours.
Creation is more significant than destruction. In the end, the most incredible machines amplify the noblest qualities of the human spirit.”
In addition to advanced LLMs and NLMs, spatial computing allows AI agents to understand and interact with 3D environments more dynamically and contextually. By leveraging spatial data, AI agents can gain a deeper understanding of real-world spaces, which can be applied in industries such as healthcare, real estate, and entertainment.
3D modelling enhances the ability of AI agents to work with spatial information by allowing them to simulate and analyse real-world environments in more detail. This innovation is especially valuable in fields like architecture and gaming, where AI can assist in designing, optimising, and interacting with 3D spaces.
Unity, one of the most popular 3D game development platforms, integrates AI tools that help game developers design interactive environments and intelligent in-game agents. AI systems assist in designing more realistic and immersive 3D spaces by analysing user behaviour and adjusting game environments dynamically to optimise engagement. AI agents also control non-playable characters (NPCs), making them smarter and more responsive to player actions
The future of AI agents: Ethical and societal implications
In 2024, AI agents are no longer a speculative idea but a rapidly growing force reshaping the workforce. With funding exceeding $1.387 billion in 2024 and a vast array of startups deploying their solutions, the potential for AI agents to transform industries is immense.
As we stand on the threshold of an AI-driven paradigm shift, it is essential to foster responsible AI development, ensuring that these powerful tools amplify the noblest qualities of the human spirit. The fusion of AI, ethics, and creativity represented by innovations like the Leonardo da Vinci AI is a promising step toward a future where AI serves humanity in profound and meaningful ways.
As AI agents continue to evolve, their role in the workforce and society at large will only grow, marking a new era in the relationship between humans and machines.
In this new era of AI-driven innovation, the possibilities are vast, and the potential for positive impact is immense. However, as Leonardo da Vinci AI, developed by ztudium’s Wisdomai.ai, wisely advises: “We must continue to learn, question, and innovate, always mindful of the ethical compass that guides our endeavours.”
Dinis Guarda is an author, academic, influencer, serial entrepreneur, and leader in 4IR, AI, Fintech, digital transformation, and Blockchain. Dinis has created various companies such as Ztudium tech platform; founder of global digital platform directory openbusinesscouncil.org; digital transformation platform to empower, guide and index cities citiesabc.com and fashion technology platform fashionabc.org. He is also the publisher of intelligenthq.com, hedgethink.com and tradersdna.com. He has been working with the likes of UN / UNITAR, UNESCO, European Space Agency, Davos WEF, Philips, Saxo Bank, Mastercard, Barclays, and governments all over the world.
With over two decades of experience in international business, C-level positions, and digital transformation, Dinis has worked with new tech, cryptocurrencies, driven ICOs, regulation, compliance, and legal international processes, and has created a bank, and been involved in the inception of some of the top 100 digital currencies.
He creates and helps build ventures focused on global growth, 360 digital strategies, sustainable innovation, Blockchain, Fintech, AI and new emerging business models such as ICOs / tokenomics.
Dinis is the founder/CEO of ztudium that manages blocksdna / lifesdna. These products and platforms offer multiple AI P2P, fintech, blockchain, search engine and PaaS solutions in consumer wellness healthcare and life style with a global team of experts and universities.
He is the founder of coinsdna a new swiss regulated, Swiss based, institutional grade token and cryptocurrencies blockchain exchange. He is founder of DragonBloc a blockchain, AI, Fintech fund and co-founder of Freedomee project.
Dinis is the author of various books. He has published different books such “4IR AI Blockchain Fintech IoT Reinventing a Nation”, “How Businesses and Governments can Prosper with Fintech, Blockchain and AI?”, also the bigger case study and book (400 pages) “Blockchain, AI and Crypto Economics – The Next Tsunami?” last the “Tokenomics and ICOs – How to be good at the new digital world of finance / Crypto” was launched in 2018.
Some of the companies Dinis created or has been involved have reached over 1 USD billions in valuation. Dinis has advised and was responsible for some top financial organisations, 100 cryptocurrencies worldwide and Fortune 500 companies.
Dinis is involved as a strategist, board member and advisor with the payments, lifestyle, blockchain reward community app Glance technologies, for whom he built the blockchain messaging / payment / loyalty software Blockimpact, the seminal Hyperloop Transportations project, Kora, and blockchain cybersecurity Privus.
He is listed in various global fintech, blockchain, AI, social media industry top lists as an influencer in position top 10/20 within 100 rankings: such as Top People In Blockchain | Cointelegraph https://top.cointelegraph.com/ and https://cryptoweekly.co/100/ .
Between 2014 and 2015 he was involved in creating a fabbanking.com a digital bank between Asia and Africa as Chief Commercial Officer and Marketing Officer responsible for all legal, tech and business development. Between 2009 and 2010 he was the founder of one of the world first fintech, social trading platforms tradingfloor.com for Saxo Bank.
He is a shareholder of the fintech social money transfer app Moneymailme and math edutech gamification children’s app Gozoa.
He has been a lecturer at Copenhagen Business School, Groupe INSEEC/Monaco University and other leading world universities.
