Investment in science and engineering plummets by 17% in 2024

The ‘Global Investment Report’, by sharetech platform Vestd, analysed Crunchbase data to assess the scale of global investment in 2024 and identify trends in the private equity sector across a range of regions and industries.

Between Q1 and Q3 of 2024, the total number of science and engineering funding rounds reached 8,947 marking a 17% decrease from the same period last year.

Overall, the software sector recorded the highest number of global funding rounds in 2024, with a total of 11,265 investors. This highlights the growing role of technology in driving economic growth and expanding innovation, as Statista revealed that in 2023, more than half of the global GDP would be driven by “digitally transformed” enterprises.

However, Crunchbase reported that AI-enabled assistants and agents saw the biggest trend for seed investment in recent months, demonstrating investors' confidence in AI as a driving force for future tech innovation. This comes as the AI market is projected to reach $1,339 billion by 2030.

Across all sectors there has been a slight slowdown in funding, however some pockets of growth emerged within robotic process automation which saw an 86% increase, while intelligent systems and generative AI businesses rose by 22.4% and 18% respectively. 

Top 5 industry groups for global funding rounds

• Software
• Science and Engineering
• Healthcare
• Data and Analytics
• IT

Commenting on the findings, Ifty Nasir, CEO of Vestd, said: “We are at a critical juncture in the global investment landscape. As funding struggles to regain momentum following broader market uncertainties, investors have become more selective, leading to many industries observing a slowdown in funding.

“This shift in the investment market presents a unique opportunity for founders to refine their value propositions and become resilient in demonstrating their growth potential and market fit. Increasingly, investors are focused on businesses that not only present a clear path to profitability but also align with key market drivers like operational efficiency and innovation.

"With how competitive the funding landscape is, founders need tools that ease the process, allowing them to focus on wowing potential investors. That is why, as a direct response to these challenges, we have launched our new fully integrated platform InVestd Raise, to offer startups and scaleups a simpler and more accessible approach to navigating funding challenges - helping founders to launch, raise investment, grow, mature and then cash in on their success, along with their teams!”