Despite slow VC deals as a result of COVID-19, interest in AI funding saw a sustained momentum in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably impacted businesses of all sizes and types. It has instigated companies to explore and implement innovative approaches to survive the new normal. Despite the pandemic overwhelmed the industry, enterprises' spending on artificial intelligence continues seeing an upward trend. Many companies have accelerated their IT spending, especially for AI technology, to keep their business going. The year 2020 has been an exciting year in terms of VC deals in growing crops of startups that leverage AI and other advanced technologies.

Here's a look at the top 10 artificial intelligence funding and investments of 2020.

SentinelOne

Amount Funded: US$267 million

Transaction Type: Series F

Lead Investor(s): Tiger Global Management

Autonomous cybersecurity platform company SentinelOne raised US$267 million in Series F in November. Led by Tiger Global Management with participation from Sequoia Capital Global Equities and existing investors including Insight Partners and Third Point Ventures, the round led the company's funding to US$3.1 billion. The fresh round will enable SentinelOne to continue stimulating hypergrowth driven by demand for its Singularity XDR Platform.

SambaNova Systems

Amount Funded: US$250 Million

Transaction Type: Series C

Lead Investor(s): BlackRock

SambaNova Systems is a computing startup focused on building machine learning and big data analytics platforms. In February, the company CA, United States-based company received US$250 million in a Series C funding round for its software-defined AI hardware. The round was led by BlackRock with participation from existing investors including GV, Intel Capital, Walden International, WRVI Capital, and Redline Capital.

Olive

Amount Funded: US$225.5 Million

Transaction Type: Venture Round

Lead Investor(s): Tiger Global Management

Olive, a developer of an artificial intelligence workforce for the healthcare industry, has recently closed US$225.5 million in a venture round. The round, which brings the company's valuation to US$1.5 billion, was led by Tiger Global and joined by existing investors General Catalyst, Drive Capital and Silicon Valley Bank along with new backers GV, Sequoia Capital Global Equities, Dragoneer Investment Group and Transformation Capital Partners. Olive intends to use this fresh capital to expedite product development with plans to announce more capabilities in 2021 to support the entire healthcare ecosystem.

UiPath

Amount Funded: US$225 Million

Transaction Type: Series E

Lead Investor(s): Alkeon

The leading RPA company, UiPath, in July closed its Series E investment round, raising US$225 million at a post-money valuation of US$10.2 billion. The round was led by Alkeon. Others participating include Accel, Coatue, Dragoneer, IVP, Madrona Venture Group, Sequoia Capital, Tencent, Tiger Global, Wellington, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. With automation now becoming a boardroom imperative with new urgency, UiPath will use this funding to deepen its investment in research and development.

Atomwise

Amount Funded: US$123 million

Transaction Type: Series B

Lead Investor(s): B Capital Group, Sanabil

Atomwise, a San Francisco, CA-based startup, uses artificial intelligence to stimulate drug discovery. The company in August raised US$123 million in a Series B funding round. This funding round was led by B Capital Group and Sanabil Investments, along with included returning investors DCVC, BV, Tencent, Y Combinator, Dolby Family Ventures, and AME Cloud Ventures. Reportedly, the company plans to utilize the new funds to help it further scale the largest AI-driven drug discovery portfolio in history and expand its over US$5 billion deal pipeline for small molecule drug discovery.

Dataiku

Amount Funded: US$100 million

Transaction Type: Series D

Lead Investor(s): Stripes

Dataiku is a New York-based centralized data platform, which moves businesses along their data journey from analytics at scale to enterprise AI. On August 24, the company secured US$100 million in a Series D funding round that will allow it to expand its platform and offerings to support this worldwide acceleration in Enterprise AI efforts. Led by Stripes with Tiger Global Management joining existing investors Battery Ventures, CapitalG, Dawn Capital, FirstMark Capital, and ICONIQ, the investment comes at a time where hundreds of customers find more value than ever before in Dataiku's offerings.

Caption Health

Amount Raised: US$53 Million

Transaction Type: Series B

Lead Investor(s): Data Collective DCVC

Caption Health, a medical company that uses artificial intelligence to interpret ultrasound exams, in July bagged US$53 million in a Series B. The round was led by existing investor DCVC, along with participation from new investors Atlantic Bridge and cardiovascular medical device leader Edwards Lifesciences and existing investor Khosla Ventures. The company has planned to use the funds to scale up its commercial operations, continue to develop its AI technology platform and form new partnerships to expand the use of Caption AI in additional care settings.

Deep Instinct

Amount Funded: US$43 Million

Transaction Type: Series C

Lead Investor(s): Millennium Technology Value Partners

Deep Instinct, which applies deep learning to cybersecurity to offer unmatched zero-day attack protection, snagged US$43 million in a Series C in February. Led by Millennium New Horizons, with Unbound (a London-based investment firm founded by Shravin Mittal), LG and Nvidia, brought the company's total funding valuation to US$100 million.

Exo

Amount Funded: US$40 million

Transaction Type: Series B

Lead Investor(s): Action Potential Venture Capital, Fiscus Ventures, Reimagined Ventures

Medical device start-up Exo that develops handheld ultrasound devices and AI for imaging and therapeutic applications, announced it closed US$40 million on 20th August, in additional Series B funding round for its AI-driven sonography technology. Exo raised its initial Series B funding of US$35 million in August 2019. According to the company, the new fund will enable for research and development of its piezoelectric micromachined ultrasound transducers technology and AI-driven software.

Soul Machine

Amount Funded: US$40 million

Transaction Type: Series B

Lead Investor(s): Temasek Holdings

Soul Machines, which designs intelligent and emotionally responsive avatars, raised US$40 million in Series B in January for AI-powered customer-facing digital avatars. The round was led by Temasek, with participation from Lakestar and existing investors Horizons Ventures, University of Auckland Inventors Fund, Salesforce Ventures, and others.