New technologies, decreasing costs, foreign interests and the emergence of the private sector have heralded the forthcoming of the second space race and with it a hopeful future on the horizon.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has always been a science ahead of its time. However, the technology has nearly caught up to the science fiction and investors have taken note. AI was one of the largest sectors for venture capital investment in 2016 and the pace of investment is accelerating with over $5 billion of capital committed to over 650 deals in 2016 alone.