Agentic AI startups attracted USD 2.8 billion in global venture capital investment in the first half of 2025, according to a report by Prosus and Dealroom.co titled “The Rise of the Agentic Workforce: How Autonomous AI Agents Will Transform the Workplace.”
Why it matters: The report suggests that agentic AI, which enables AI systems to operate autonomously with minimal human oversight, represents a significant shift in the workplace and is poised to become a critical area of innovation and competition.
The details:
- Agentic AI is considered the third wave of artificial intelligence, following predictive and generative models.
- The report maps over 1,500 agentic AI startups, categorizing them by application sectors, platforms for building AI agents, and tools that enhance their operations.
- Coding agents have achieved strong market traction, with companies like Cursor becoming some of the fastest-growing in the industry.
- The report forecasts that agentic AI will account for 10 percent of all AI funding rounds in 2025, representing approximately USD 6.7 billion in investment.
The report also predicts that workplaces will be restructured to integrate multiple AI agents, with human employees guiding teams of digital colleagues and focusing on strategic direction, creative problem-solving, and performance oversight.
What they’re saying:
- “The rise of agentic AI represents a foundational change in how we will work with AI technology in the coming years,” said Fabricio Bloisi, Chief Executive Officer of Prosus.
- “Fully AI employees are months, rather than years, away,” Bloisi noted. “The companies that adapt quickly to this change will be the ones that thrive in the new era of work.”
What’s next: The findings highlight a broader shift in the technology investment landscape, with agentic AI emerging as a key area of innovation and competition in the coming years.
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