The Valuation of Artificial Intelligence-Driven Startups

Innovative AI startups are newly formed companies with no operating profits and history, and with high growth potential, which usually absorbs a lot of liquidity in the early years of life, to finance development, against minimal collateralizable assets. This is unattractive for traditional banking intermediaries, usually replaced by other specialized intermediaries such as venture capital or private equity funds, which diversify their portfolio basing their strategies on a multi-year exit with substantial expected increases in value from investments that survive a Darwinian selection. The evaluation of the target companies follows traditional methodologies, accompanied by specific features deriving from varied probabilistic scenarios and multiple exit methods. The technological footprint implies evaluation analogies with patents, know-how, and intangibles linked to AI-driven specific sectors.