The Industrial Sector Leads in VC Funding with $15.2 Billion Raised YTD, 30% more than AI Startups and Twice more than Healthcare Companies

March 23, 7:43 am

After rough past few years, the venture capital landscape is expected to rebound in 2024, bringing much more fresh capital to companies and startups across industries. And while all eyes are set on AI companies and startups, which have become the new shiny object for investors, one other market is leading the 2024 VC funding race.

According to data presented by AltIndex.com, companies from the industrial sector have raised $15.2 billion in funding rounds year-to-date, or 30% more than AI startups and almost twice more than healthcare companies.

The Highest Quarterly Funding Amount in the History of the Industrial Market

According to Forbes, the industrial sector is the third best sector to invest in 2024, behind AI and the healthcare industry, thanks to its integral role in the global economy and its ongoing transformation through technological advancements, including automation, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). And while AI and healthcare companies are the major themes among this year's best-performing stocks, the industrial market has seen much more VC funding activity.

The Crunchbase data show the companies and startups in the industrial sector have raised $15.2 billion in funding rounds year-to-date, 80% more than in Q1 2023 and the highest quarterly figure in the market`s history. Statistics also show that, while the total funding amount increased, the number of funding rounds dropped, showing startups managed to raise more fresh capital in fewer funding rounds. Since the beginning of the year, these companies saw 14 VC investments, down from 26 in Q1 2023.

The Q1 funding amount in the industrial sector is even more impressive when compared to other top markets for VC investments. Statistics show industrial companies and startups have drawn 30% more fresh capital to finance their businesses than AI startups. Since the beginning of the year, companies working in the artificial intelligence space raised $11.6 billion, or $5 billion less than in the same period a year ago.

Healthcare startups are also far behind when it comes to VC funding activity. Over the past three months, companies in the healthcare industry raised $7 billion in funding rounds, or twice less than the industrial companies.

The Industrial Sector Hit $122.1 Billion in Total Funding, more than Half of that Value Raised in the Past Two Years

With $15.2 billion of fresh capital poured into the industrial sector year-to-date, the cumulative funding amount in this market jumped to $122.1 billion. Interestingly, more than half of that value was raised in the past two years.

Statistics also show that despite leading the chart of the most funded markets in 2024, the industrial sector loses the race with AI and healthcare companies when talking about the cumulative funding. AI companies have raised over $355 billion, nearly three times more than startups from the industrial sector. Healthcare companies have also raised much more money, or over $229 billion so far.

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