SparkLabs, an early-stage venture finance firm that has backed OpenAI, Vectara, Allganize, Kneron, Anthropic, xAI, Glade (YC S23), and Lucidya AI, is expanding into new AI firms. The VC company closed a $50 million AIM AI Fund to support AI firms from its Saudi Arabian AIM-X accelerator and other AI startups worldwide.
The broader investment goals of SparkLabs’ new fund highlight the larger themes that have been present in the artificial intelligence space over the past few years. Particularly in the area of generative AI, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of startups in this field as well as a rush of investors searching for the next Open AI, or at the very least, a firm that a larger corporation might acquire in order to hone its own AI edge.
It also illustrates how the potential for AI is still expanding outside of Silicon Valley. SparkLabs launched AIM-X, an AI-focused startup accelerator, in the kingdom earlier this year as a part of its AI Mission, a five-year national initiative to advance AI technology.
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Over the past few years, there has been a notable rise in AI startups worldwide. According to the Edge Delta report, as of March 2024, there were over 210 AI unicorns with a combined value of over $1 billion. However, the U.S. as a whole continues to lead the pack in launching the most AI firms between 2013 and 2022 (4,633 startups), despite the fact that it is a worldwide phenomena, according to the report.
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According to co-founder and SparkLabs partner Bernard Moon, roughly three-quarters of the new fund will go toward supporting accelerator participants, with the remaining sixty-five percent going toward Series A and Series B investments outside of Saudi Arabia.
“The accelerator will seek a minority allocation for Saudi Arabia or MENA investments, about 10%-20%,” Moon said. “The majority will be just the best AI startups regardless of location… I assume the majority in the U.S.”
Although the identities of SparkLabs’ limited partners are unknown, Moon stated that one of them is a government fund of funds.
About SparkLabs Group
The SparkLabs Group of startup accelerators and venture capital funds has invested in over 450 firms on 6 continents since December 2013.They believe innovation is global and entrepreneurial knowledge, energy, and talent expand globally.
