 AI made the jump from an emerging technology to a mature one in 2021, according to the 2022 AI Index. AI is being integrated into the economy, and the effects are showing across AI funding, research, and deployment, according to the latest annual study released by Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). Key findings: - Private investment in AI, led by larger funding rounds, more than doubled from 2020 to 2021.
- U.S. lawmakers proposed 130 AI laws in 2021, up from only one in 2015. Altogether, 25 countries passed 18 bills containing "artificial intelligence" in 2021.
- AI systems are less expensive and don't take as long to train. The cost to train an image classification, for example, dropped by 64%, and training times have improved by 94% since 2018.
- Large language and multimodal language-vision models excel in technical benchmarks but face more ethical problems like toxic text.
- In the past decade, the U.S. and China claimed the most cross-country collaborations in AI papers.
- The number of AI patents is now 30x higher than in 2015.
- The report showed a 5x increase in publications on AI fairness and transparency in the past four years.
Zoom-out: - Stanford's HAI also released its Global AI Vibrancy Tool.
- The interactive visualization is designed to show what nations are leading the global AI race based on different indicators.
- The tool allows users to compare 29 countries across 23 indicators.
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Microsoft researchers created an AI-powered head-worn device that helps blind children socialize more easily. The AI prototype system, called PeopleLens, uses computer vision algorithms to identify and track the gaze of people nearby. It can help blind children make friends and develop more confidence and competence in social interactions, according to Microsoft. More: - The device works on augmented reality glasses that are tethered to a smartphone.
- Once a blind person wears it, the device uses AI to continuously locate, identify, and track the gaze of people nearby.
- When the wearer looks at a person, PeopleLense reads the name of the individual aloud in spatialized audio.
- This allows blind users to build a mental map of people around them.
- Microsoft is now recruiting U.K. volunteers for a multistage research study on the device, which has yet to be released commercially.
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Lendable, a U.K.-based AI-powered consumer finance platform, announced a $275M funding round that values the company at $4.6B. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan, led the fundraising through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform. More: - Lendable says it uses automation and AI to improve the underwriting process.
- It links institutional investors with borrowers across financial products, including loans, credit cards, and car financing.
- The firm claims its technology can offer customers better rates.
- The AI loan startup firm was founded in 2014 and reached unicorn status in 2021.
- The fresh funding will help it develop additional products and expand internationally.
- London-based Lendable has raised $1.3B to date.
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 After several years of beta testing, Intuition Robotics released its ElliQ social robot for aging adults. The company's initial commercial sales are focused on South Florida, which it says has one of the largest 65+ populations. More: - The voice-enabled robot is being marketed as a companion to help older adults age in place.
- Its content includes workouts, wellness coach sessions, transportation through Uber Health, health info from the Mayo Clinic, and "daily conversation and inspiration."
- Intuition developed ElliQ with fuseproject, an industrial design and branding firm.
- The digital care companion is being sold as a subscription plan, also known as Robot as a Service (RaaS).
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Walmart said it's hiring for AI and other technology roles this year. The company announced plans to open two more tech hubs in Atlanta and Toronto that will need data scientists, software engineers, and other new hires. More: - Walmart said Atlanta has "growth strengths" in AI, machine learning, software engineering, and data science.
- It also has the country's highest growth of tech grads, it said.
- The first hiring phase in Atlanta will seek 140 full-time tech positions at the company.
- Several hundred new roles will be based at the Toronto tech hub, home to 26% of Canada's technology workforce.
- With the openings, Walmart will have 17 tech hubs worldwide and employ around 20,000 people on its Global Tech team, which is its fastest-growing corporate team.
Zoom-out: - Among Walmart's more recent AI initiatives is the "Choose My Model" tool, which it says is powered by AI and computer vision.
- The tool allows shoppers to view how clothing looks on models with a similar appearance.
- It was the first product to come out of Walmart's purchase of AI startup Zeekit, which combines real-time image processing, computer vision, and other AI to demonstrate how customers would look in clothing.
- Walmart also launched a self-driving delivery pilot with the autonomous vehicle company Cruise in Arizona, which is set to expand to the rest of the U.S.
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🍋 FRESH FUNDING 🍋 - JIFFY.ai (Palo Alto, Calif.), app-based low-code/no-code intelligent automation platform: $53M B led by Eight Roads Ventures, Iron Pillar, R-Squared, participation from Nexus Venture Partners, Reaction Capital, Rebright Partners.
- Diamond Age (Phoenix, Ariz.), robotics-based home construction automation: $50M A led by Prime Movers Lab, participation from Alpaca VC, Dolby Family Ventures, Timber Grove Ventures, et al.
- Silent Eight (Singapore), AI-enhanced economic sanctions enforcement and financial crime prevention solutions: $40M B led by TYH Ventures, participation from HSBC Ventures, OTB Ventures, Wavemaker Partners, SC Ventures, et al.
- Selector Labs (Santa Clara, Calif.), AIops platform for network, cloud, and app delivery workflows: $28M A led by Two Bear Capital, SineWave Ventures, Atlantic Bridge.
- LifeScore (London, U.K.), AI music technology: $14.4M A led by Octopus Ventures, participation from Warner Music Group, IDEO, 4 Good Ventures.
- Affogata (Tel Aviv, Israel), AI-driven customer intelligence platform: $9.5M led by Mindset Ventures, participation from Mangrove Capital, Pico Venture Partners.
- Mirror World (New York, N.Y.), content matrix with AI-powered virtual life forms via NFTs: $4M Seed led by Alameda Research, Republic Crypto.
For the latest on AI startup funding and more in the VC community, subscribe to our newsletter Inside Venture Capital.
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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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