AI Investments Over the Last Decade
Yearly breakdown of global private AI funding (2015–2024)
- Early Growth: Initial years with relatively low AI investments (2015–2016)
- Acceleration Phase: Years when investment growth started accelerating (2017–2019)
- Pandemic Spike: Surge in investment due to increased AI demand during the pandemic (2020–2021)
- Peak Innovation: Record-breaking investment levels reflecting global AI race (2022–2024)
Visual Intelligence by FactsFigs.com
Chart represents cumulative AI private investment by year
Data Source: Stanford AI Index 2025
AI Investment Growth 2015–2024
Over the past decade, global AI investment has shown exponential growth.
From $10B in 2015 to over $200B in 2024, the market has expanded rapidly due to advances in deep learning, data infrastructure, and enterprise adoption.
The trendline clearly shows accelerated adoption around 2020, coinciding with the pandemic.
Top Growth Years
Years that saw the highest increase in investment.
AI funding reached all-time highs.
Government regulations begin to shape the ecosystem.
AI models became multimodal and more capable.
Generative AI reached billions of users.
AI Investment Share per Year
2015 10 – AI investments began to gain momentum globally. 2016 25 – Increased funding from VCs and governments. 2017 40 – Startups saw a surge in AI adoption. 2018 55 – Breakthroughs in deep learning fueled growth. 2019 65 – AI entered mainstream enterprise solutions. 2020 85 – Pandemic accelerated AI use in healthcare and logistics. 2021 110 – AI funding reached all-time highs. 2022 140 – Government regulations begin to shape the ecosystem. 2023 170 – AI models became multimodal and more capable. 2024 200 – Generative AI reached billions of users.
AI Expansion Accelerates
2020 marked a shift where AI moved from research labs to production environments, and funding reflected this shift.
Why It Matters
Tracking investment trends helps us understand where innovation is happening and which technologies are driving the next wave of growth.
Conclusion
The data highlights that AI is not just a trend — it’s a sustained technological revolution.
Data Reference & Sources
Source: Stanford AI Index 2025
Data sourced from Stanford’s 2025 AI Index Report, which compiles global investment figures across private and public sectors.
Figures are inflation-adjusted and rounded for readability.
Annual investment values include funding from VCs, private equity, corporate investment, and M&A activities.
Verified on July 30, 2025
