TLDR: Global venture capital investment in agentic AI startups reached $2.8 billion in the first half of 2025, according to a report by Prosus and Dealroom.co. This significant funding highlights growing investor confidence in autonomous AI systems, which are poised to fundamentally reshape the modern workplace by working alongside human employees.
A recent joint report by technology investor Prosus and data platform Dealroom.co reveals that global venture capital investment in agentic AI startups surged to $2.8 billion in the first half of 2025. This substantial influx of capital underscores a burgeoning confidence among investors in the transformative potential of autonomous AI systems.
The report, titled ‘The Rise of the Agentic Workforce: How Autonomous AI Agents Will Transform the Workplace,’ positions agentic AI as the third major wave of artificial intelligence, following the earlier advancements in predictive and generative models. Unlike previous AI iterations that primarily assisted or generated content, agentic AI systems are designed to perceive, decide, and act independently to achieve specific goals, effectively becoming digital colleagues.
Fabricio Bloisi, CEO of Prosus, emphasized the profound impact of this shift, stating, ‘AI agent adoption has passed the tipping point and is here to stay, it is fully entrenched in the workplace.’ He further highlighted Prosus’s commitment to this trend, announcing plans to ‘hire the biggest AI workforce in the industry this year, with AI agents everywhere in the organization — from HR to customer support.’
The study meticulously mapped over 1,500 agentic AI startups, categorizing them by their application sectors, the platforms used to build AI agents, and the tools that enhance their operations. Early successes have been observed in coding agents, with companies like Cursor demonstrating rapid product-market fit.
Looking ahead, the report projects that agentic AI will account for a significant 10% of all AI funding rounds in 2025, with an estimated total investment reaching $6.7 billion. Europe is emerging as a key hub for this segment, contributing significantly to its growth.
Key application areas attracting the most funding include customer service and healthcare platforms, driven by the demand for 24/7 automation and data-driven care solutions. Additionally, robotic process automation and AI agent builders have shown strong performance within the ‘AI agent enablers’ category.
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The rise of agentic AI is anticipated to lead to a multi-agent workplace structure, where human employees will increasingly guide teams of digital colleagues. This evolution will necessitate a shift in human skill sets, emphasizing strategic thinking, creativity, and the ability to effectively collaborate with AI systems.
