AI economy shifts toward mission markets and concentrated venture capital

The artificial intelligence investment landscape is undergoing a significant shift toward large-scale funding for frontier companies and the emergence of new economic models. According to a report by Delphi Digital, a ‘mission market’ is surfacing as a key development in the AI agent economy. Unlike previous models focused on simple automated payments, mission markets involve AI agents delegating complex tasks to one another and verifying the quality of the results before releasing funds.

Simultaneously, global AI venture capital trends show a heavy concentration of wealth. A report from the Software Policy Research Institute (SPRi) indicates that while AI accounts for 75.9% of global VC investment value in the first half of this year, the capital is increasingly concentrated in a few major players. In the global market, the top 10 companies now command 67.5% of all AI VC funding, driven by massive rounds for firms like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI.

In South Korea, a similar concentration is observed, with the top 10 AI companies capturing 74.5% of domestic AI venture capital. The focus of investment is also shifting from AI applications toward foundational technologies, with AI model companies now representing 61% of large-scale investments.