Agentic AI startups raise $2.8 billion in 2025, says Prosus report

Customer service and healthcare platforms lead agentic AI investments as firms adopt autonomous digital colleagues for 24/7 automation and data-driven workplace transformation

A new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) startups focused on autonomous workplace agents attracted $2.8 billion in global venture capital funding during the first half of 2025, signalling investor confidence in AI systems that work alongside human employees rather than merely assist them. 

The surge in so-called ‘agentic AI’ investment reflects a fundamental shift from traditional AI tools that respond to prompts towards autonomous systems capable of independent decision-making and task execution in corporate environments. This shift promises to reshape workplace dynamics as organisations prepare to integrate AI colleagues into their workforce structures. The funding figures come from a new report by Prosus titled The Rise of the Agentic Workforce: How Autonomous AI Agents Will Transform the Workplace, produced in partnership with venture capital intelligence platform Dealroom.co. 

 

Agentic AI represents the third major wave of AI adoption, following predictive and generative models. What sets it apart is its ability to make independent decisions, its capacity to learn and adapt, and to take ownership of complete tasks. These AI systems are now being deployed across sectors such as customer support, logistics, finance, software development and healthcare. 

 

“The rise of agentic AI represents a foundational change in how we’ll work with AI technology in the coming years,” said Fabricio Bloisi, chief executive officer of Prosus. “We are past the tipping point of AI agent adoption and it is now firmly rooted in the workplace. Agentic AI companies are attracting billions of dollars of venture capital investment. At Prosus, we plan to hire the largest AI workforce in the industry this year, with AI agents working across our organisation from HR to customer support.”

 

The report said agentic AI is gaining traction fast and that we are already past the tipping point of adoption. AI agents will transform the workplace by acting as digital co-workers rather than merely helpful tools. Coding agents are the first to reach product–market fit, with companies like Cursor already among the fastest growing companies ever. Fully AI employees are months, rather than years, away.

 

Venture capital funding for agentic AI is also ramping up quickly. It is expected to total 10 per cent of all AI funding rounds in 2025, amounting to $6.7 billion of investment, with Europe punching above its weight in terms of its share. Customer service and healthcare platforms are the most funded application areas, while robotic process automation (RPA) and AI agent builders have outperformed within the category of ‘AI agent enablers’.

 

The report said we are heading towards a multi-agent future, where organisations will be structured differently and which will reward entirely new skill sets. People will set the direction for their teams of agent-based ‘digital colleagues’, who help carry out tasks. As AI takes on more routine work, people will need to evolve their skill sets, understand how to work effectively alongside AI systems and guide their performance, with a focus on strategic thinking and creative problem-solving.