Venture capitalists are the startup experts, the ones who have their finger on the pulse of which fledgling companies will boom and which will bust.
As part of Business Insider Prime's comprehensive coverage of the startups that will strike gold in 2019, we asked VCs to name the startups they think are going to be hot this year. They told us about companies they currently have in their portfolios, as well as ones they haven't put any money into yet but are at the center of positive news.
And from those discussions, one particular group of startups came up repeatedly: those that specialize in artificial intelligence tech.
From AI robots to software that uses machine learning to automate tasks, Silicon Valley is chock full of AI-focused startups.
Take, for example, Transfix, a freight marketplace that companies use to hire trucks from carriers. The startup is trying to transform the $800 billion trucking industry by using AI to match loads with carriers. It's raised $131 million so far.
There are hundreds of noteworthy startups focusing on AI today, so BI Prime has gone to the expert venture capitalists to select the cream of the crop and create a full list of 12 AI Startups to Watch that include:
- A company that automatically audits expense reports
- A startup that builds self-driving, robot tractors
- A software bot that helps create other software bots
- And other startups looking to transform industries through AI
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