 Worldwide AI funding more than doubled last year to $66.8B, up from $32.1B in 2020, according to CB Insights' State of AI 2021 Report. Last year's funding was up 108% year-over-year, led by healthcare AI, which made up 18% of the total amount, the agency found. By the numbers: - Q4'21 was still the third-largest quarter ever for deals and the second largest for funding.
- In Q4, Tiger Global Management was the most active investor in AI, backing 13 startups in three months.
- In Q4'21, devSecOps vendor Lacework reported the largest equity round, a $1.3B Series D.
- There was still a quarter-over-quarter slowdown in AI funding deals.
- Last year had a record 311 AI M&A deals.
- The largest in the sector was PayPal's $2.7B acquisition of AI BNPL vendor Paidy.
- It was also a record year for AI IPOs (40) and SPACs (15).
- The average funding deal size rose 78% in 2021 over 2020.
- There were a dozen $500M+ rounds in 2021 compared to just two the year prior.
- Another record of 65 AI companies reached unicorn status — or $1B+ valuations — in 2021, a more than 44% jump over 2020.
- The median size of deals backed by asset/investment management and private-equity investors was $62M in 2021.
CB INSIGHTS 
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 Despite the large amount of AI funding in health care, the industry has been slow to adopt AI technologies, according to a Brookings report. The think tank cited the low level of U.S. job postings requiring AI skills in health care relative to other industries (see graph above). In its report, Brookings offered four barriers to why hospitals aren't adopting AI at a faster pace: - Algorithmic limitations: AI algorithms can be "black boxes," and experts are not proactively looking into their underlying problems, which raises the risk that those algorithms will have flaws that are only discovered after they're deployed — a substantial risk when lives are on the line and hospitals would be blamed. However, interpretable AI and clinical trials standards for AI systems could spur more adoption.
- Data access: Medical data is difficult to come by and pool across health care providers. But without large high-quality datasets, it's hard if not impossible to build useful algorithms.
- Regulation: Some of the aforementioned issues are exacerbated by regulatory barriers, according to Brookings. These include privacy regulations that impede the collection and pooling of health care data. In addition, the regulatory approval process can take time, and hospitals might hesitate to use new technology due to liability concerns.
- Misaligned incentives: Medical professionals are often the decision-makers, meaning they have to sign off on AI systems that may threaten to replace their jobs.
THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION
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 Volvo said it's rolling out AI-enabled inspection stations for its vehicles at its U.S. dealerships. The stations, which are developed by the Israeli tech firm UVeye, combine AI, machine learning, and cameras to examine cars and detect defects in their exteriors, tires, frames, and elsewhere. More: - The inspections stations will have three AI systems in total:
- Two 360-degree exterior inspection systems, called Atlas and Atlas Lite, can scan the exterior for dents, paint chips, rust, and more.
- The Artemis system can check tire air pressure and tire quality.
- Helios is an underbody scanner that can identify fluid leaks, frame damage, and brake and exhaust system problems.
- The stations, which are optional for dealers, will start on the East Coast and make their way to Volvo dealer service departments across the U.S.
- Dealers won't buy the systems but rather buy subscription plans from UVeye. Volvo will also offer undisclosed incentives.
CNET
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's new AI Commission is hosting its first hearing today in Austin, Texas, followed by hearings in Cleveland, Ohio, and Silicon Valley. The commission is seeking comments from witnesses about AI fairness and global competitiveness regulation in the industry. More: - The Chamber launched the bipartisan commission in January to research and suggest policies related to AI regulation, international R&D competitiveness, and future jobs.
- The group's goal is to make sure the U.S. maintains its lead in innovation and promotes fairness in AI.
- It's co-chaired by former U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) and Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.).
- Members will meet with researchers and host the meetings to gather feedback before promoting their solutions to lawmakers and others.
Meetings: - The next hearings are in Cleveland on April 28 and Silicon Valley on May 9.
- People can request to testify as a witness in person by emailing AICommission@uschamber.com.
- The commission plans to hold more field hearings in the U.S. and internationally.
AMERICAN INNOVATORS
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Autobrains, a developer of self-learning AI tech for autonomous driving, raised $19M to close out its $120M Series C. The company likens its neural network approach to AI driving as similar to the human brain. More: - Autobrains, formerly Cartica AI, is an AI mobility company that specializes in deep learning for autonomous driving and advanced driving assisted systems.
- Based in Israel, it claims its system costs less and requires less computing power because of reduced reliance on manually labeled data.
- This could make self-driving cars more adaptive to new behaviors in the real world as they happen, bringing the gap to reach fully autonomous driving, according to VinFast's deputy CEO.
- The recent round was led by Temasek and included existing investors Continental and BMW I Ventures, as well as new investors Knorr-Bremse AG and VinFast.
- Autobrains plans to use the funding to improve its unsupervised AI learning capabilities, a.k.a. when an AI system analyzes unlabeled data sets to find patterns on its own without humans.
- It also plans to expand its offices in the U.S., Asia, and Europe and enter new domains such as the trucking industry.
SILICON ANGLE
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 AI Rudder, a startup creating voice AI technology for B2C communications, announced a $50M Series B from Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital India, Huashan Capital, and others. The Singapore-based startup has now raised $60M in the last 12 months. More: - AI Rudder specializes in AI voice assistants and automation to augment human customer-service agents in industries like banking, fintech, insurance, and e-commerce.
- It counts 200 companies among its customers and reported a 400% YoY revenue increase over the past year.
- According to co-founder Kun Wu, the new capital infusion will help Rudder enhance its product suite, double its headcount, boost its global presence, and serve more clients.
THE BUSINESS TIMES
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QUICK HITS - The Path to AI Maturity provides insights from the C-suite on current levels of AI investment, priorities by stage of AI maturity, and more.*
- Forbes interviewed nine female AI leaders who shared their suggestions for other women who are interested in an AI career.
- Virginia Tech and Amazon partnered on an AI/ML research program that includes doctoral student fellowships, research projects, and a shared advisory board.
- Listening to AI-curated music playlists greatly reduced symptoms for people with high trait anxiety, according to a Ryerson University study.
- AI-powered revenue analysis startup CaliberMind announced an $8M Series A co-led by IAG Capital Partners and Lavrock Ventures.
- Are you leaving revenue from payments processing on the table? Find out in our guide to payments for software companies.*
*This is sponsored content.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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