Investment in AI Focuses on Vertical Integration or Giving Birth to Super Unicorns
Song Chunyu/Photographer
Securities Times Reporter Li Mingju
In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become the core direction for venture capital institutions to compete. As we enter 2025, what changes will occur in the AI investment logic of the first-tier market? What new investment opportunities will arise? The applications of AI in vertical fields are blooming, and which sub-sectors are most likely to give birth to new super unicorns? Recently, at the "New Opportunities for AI Investment" roundtable forum held during the 13th Entrepreneurial Investment Conference and the National Venture Capital Association Alliance's visit to the Guangming Science City, leading investors shared their observations from their own perspectives.
From models to applications: AI investment presents new changes
Juming, General Manager of Shanghai Science and Technology Group, said that the change in AI direction in the Yangtze River Delta region, particularly in Shanghai, is clear and typical. First, from "model-driven" to "application-driven", investment focuses more on AI's applications in specific industries, such as AI + healthcare, AI + manufacturing, or AI + new materials; capital values technology that can truly penetrate scenarios, solve real problems, and create commercial value; second, under the background of technological iteration, more underlying technologies will continue to attract a large amount of capital, such as those in robotics, autonomous driving, and integrated circuits; finally, in the current investment environment, AI empowers scientific research, i.e., "AI for Science", which has more imaginative space than individual industry applications.
Zhenbo, Chief Investment Officer of Times Beauty, believes that this year, AI investment has undergone three changes: one is from large models to AI's applications in vertical and industrial fields, as well as the integration of AI software and hardware; two is that the valuation logic of projects has changed, with more emphasis on teams, products, and services, and their feasibility; three is that the "80/20 rule" is becoming more evident, with investment further concentrated towards national funds and top-tier institutions due to the current IPO exit difficulties and marketization fundraising difficulties.
AI investment continues to rise
Investors need to develop their intuition
Guoyu, Chairman of Hua Xia Investment, said that AI is a major revolution in human production history, with limitless market space. As various regions set up development plans for AI, the robot body manufacturing industry may experience overcapacity and surplus in the future. He believes that as an investor, one should focus on projects that are difficult to replicate by capital and region, such as the "brain" of robots, agile hands, or other challenging technologies.
"As the technological curve becomes steeper, many industries and companies will exhibit 'peak performance' at their debut, including rapid increases in valuation, leaving investors with very little time to observe and make decisions." said Ma Hua, Investment Management Partner of TCL. This requires investors to have sharper insights, judgments, and decision-making abilities.
Zhenbo believes that as an investment institution, one needs to truly grasp the opportunities and select good projects by doing the following: first, maintain a stable mindset, cultivate intuition, deepen industry understanding, and clarify both industrial logic and investment logic; second, focus more on teams, especially when investing in early-stage projects, where the team is most critical. Looking at the long-term cycle, determining whether a company can take off depends on the trend of its industry and core team; third, pay close attention to industries, especially highlighting research on key companies, understanding the changes in industry demand, pain points, and needs.
Chen Bin, Founder of Qi Zhong Investment, pointed out that over the next five to ten years, AI will focus on developing a deep-seated sub-sector investment fund centered around AI, robotics, and low-altitude economy, mainly investing in core technologies and innovative applications. Through capital empowerment and industry coordination, we aim to nurture globally competitive technology companies, driving AI technology towards more intelligent and more accessible development.
AI + sub-sectors have limitless potential
New super unicorns are likely to emerge
At present, AI is transitioning from early-stage technical concept validation to commercialization and industrial integration. When discussing the sub-sectors that may give birth to new super unicorns in the future, Chen Bin favors "AI + data". He believes that by combining leading AI technologies with industry data, many fields can potentially produce excellent companies valued at over $1 trillion.
"Super unicorns are likely to emerge from 'AI for Science'." said Juming. Generative AI is fundamentally changing the research paradigm, exponentially increasing R&D efficiency. He also pointed out that the application fields of "AI for Science" are extremely broad, covering medical, materials, energy, chemical, and semiconductor industries, which is truly a revolutionary force.
Zhenbo believes that in sub-sectors, AI is more likely to land in industries with the following three characteristics: first, there are sufficient pain points or needs, such as cost reduction or efficiency improvement; second, there are policy-driven incentives, such as government subsidies or support; third, technology adaptability, such as easy data access or standardized scenarios. Additionally, companies that can give birth to super unicorns must have a large enough market space. To C companies are relatively easier to produce big-valued companies, and from this logic, AI + healthcare and AI + consumer industries will definitely give rise to companies valued at over $1 trillion.