Artificial intelligence startups had a wild ride in 2023. Everyone and their grandmother tried out some kind of AI tool, startups within the space raised rounds at 2021 valuations, there have been high-profile shutdowns, after which to shut out the yr, we had all of the drama surrounding Sam Altman and OpenAI — plus Recent York Times’ lawsuit against the corporate.

With a lot within the rearview mirror, it’s hard to predict what is going to occur with AI startups in 2024. But some people, like investors, make their living from shrewd bets, so TechCrunch+ recently asked greater than 40 investors what they think AI investing could appear like in 2024.

Most investors told TechCrunch+ that they expect the present swell of funding to proceed, but were optimistic that the industry is moving past its initial hype cycle and toward more durable businesses that may last. Additionally they think that 2024 could see the start of a second wave of AI startups which might be more verticalized, focused on specific sectors, and that move away from constructing layers on top of technologies from corporations like OpenAI and Google.

Lisa Wu, a partner at Norwest Enterprise Partners, expects opportunities in verticalized AI to be particularly attractive this yr. She thinks that there could possibly be lower risk in investing in these startups, as they won’t be as likely — or easily — replicated by legacy corporations like Microsoft and Google.

“These are AI applications with deep underlying knowledge of end-user workflows and access to industry-specific training data to make employees and teams more productive,” Wu said. “For instance, law firms that effectively leverage AI will give you the option to supply their services at lower cost, higher efficiency and better odds of favorable outcomes in litigation.”