AI infrastructure and autonomous agents drive global tech investment

Global technology investment is shifting heavily toward AI infrastructure and autonomous AI agents. In the computing sector, AI cloud provider Lambda is seeking up to $4 billion in private investment at a $14.5 billion valuation. Etched, an AI inference chip startup, is also reviewing investment offers that could value the company between $40 billion and $50 billion.

The autonomous AI agent sector is seeing significant capital inflows. China-based Manus secured over $500 million, while Nous Research raised $90 million in a round involving Nvidia and Samsung. Other specialized startups, including Vesta for financial automation and OneByZero for enterprise deployment, also secured funding.

Deep tech and defense sectors are seeing milestone investments as well. UK-based Universal Quantum raised $100 million in a Series A round, marking a record for British quantum computing. In the robotics and defense space, Germany’s RobCo reached unicorn status, and various firms focused on drone production and missile interception systems secured funding.

Reflecting these trends, Samsung Asset Management has launched the ‘KODEX US AI Agent Active’ ETF. This fund targets the growing AI agent ecosystem, investing in key US companies such as Meta, Palantir, and Palo Alto Networks to capitalize on the transition from hardware infrastructure to practical service implementation.