AI Unicorn Funding Takes a Dip! Could Result in Major Job Loss

The market is suffering, which results in the fall of AI unicorn funding. How will they survive?

Artificial intelligence is presently the most disruptive technology. From identifying our faces to recommending the best products, artificial intelligence is everywhere. This technology is also becoming a great source for top AI Unicorns to achieve their bottom-line targets. Best AI unicorns are majorly in the field of big data analytics, autonomous driving, facial recognition, etc. According to research firm CB Insights, more than 30 AI unicorns are now valued at more than a billion dollars. But recently AI unicorn funding is falling. Huge, nine-figure venture capital rounds were fuelled by crossover investors and others piling into startup territory, pushing up the valuation of many startups to stratospheric levels. Some of those bets will pay off, like the Figma Series E from last June but much artificial intelligence unicorn funding will fail to keep them in the lead. The AI unicorn funding boom of 2021 transformed it into a 'unicorn year' for the Indian startup ecosystem, but there has been a sharp decline in the number of Artificial intelligence startups entering the unicorn club in 2022.

What matters for our purposes, however, is that the pace at which unicorns are raising capital is slowing down not just from last year's epic fundraising period but even compared to the more distant past. If unicorns are not able to raise as much this year as they did in, say, 2019, how many of the billion-dollar-plus AI unicorns are going to survive? The AI unicorn funding fall cannot simply be attributed to more companies exiting before they can raise unicorn-minting rounds. AI job loss is also raising fear among people.

The gap between humans and machines are narrowing over years with emerging technological innovations. Despite the increasing sophistication that technology leverages, the industry is opening its door to more people and jobs. While famous tech jobs like data scientist, machine learning engineer, etc are attracting most of the aspirants, the Metaverse jobs are also on the rise, thus making AI jobs less important. On that note, here are the few AI jobs that might lose value in 2030:

Augmented Reality Storyteller

Virtual and augmented reality allows the reader to stop being passive and offers a window into the story. AR/VR is giving storytellers the ultimate tool to immerse their audiences in their stories. Content creators are pushing the boundaries of storytelling and adopting AR/VR to tell new stories more engagingly and with an unmistakable sense of presence. This job will allow entities to create both immersive training scenarios and hard-to-spot marketing opportunities.

World Builder

World builder will design single-player or multiplayer game environments, with a specific emphasis on first-person shooter games. This role requires many of the same skills asked of video-game designers, except with a potentially entirely different endgame. Responsible for creating and developing 3-D game levels using popular 3-D modeling tools and packages, expected to be able to design environments with a realistic look and feel.

Smart City Analyst

City planners are becoming cool again! Smart cities use data and technology to create efficiencies, improve sustainability, etc for people living and working in the city. With the increasing use of smart cars, drones, and post-Covid office space optimization their help will be sorely needed.

Microgrid analyst

The Microgrid will be responsible for energy & data analytics and energy simulations for solar PV and energy storage systems and microgrids using top technologies.

Digital artisan

Art and technology are two extreme ends. But recently, many developments in both sectors are driving them closer. Therefore, unique profiles like digital artisan open up. A digital artisan thinks out of the box and delivers creative solutions and products. An interest in programming espoused with a keen sense of creativity composes the perfect profile of a digital artisan.

Graphcore: Raising fear of AI job loss

Graphcore is one of the top AI unicorns that is proposing to cut jobs at multiple headquarters due to the deteriorating macroeconomic situation. One of the company's spokespeople claimed that the company is undergoing a consultation process, but the management is not declaring the proportion of the workforce that is likely to be cut. Instead, the company claimed that the ongoing macroeconomic backdrop is extremely challenging, which means making hard choices was the only way to sustain growth and development in the upcoming year. The headcount will be reduced on a global basis and the management is already in consultation with the staff in other headquarters.

Graphcore is one of the most successful European semiconductor startups in terms of the funds raised. Now, the dilemma among tech freshers is that when a successful AI unicorn plans to freeze the hiring process, it will for sure cause others to follow suit. Pursuing an AI career has become a priority for aspiring tech professionals. After the big tech layoffs started, artificial intelligence unicorns and startups became the last resort for emerging tech workers. Now, with Graphcore's blessing, probably other AI unicorns and startups will start laying off employees and implement a hiring freeze.