Think you're leading the way in AI? Look outside the window

Artificial intelligence has been the buzz trend of 2017, with countless travel companies eager to claim their prowess in the field or signify how it's become core to their strategy.

Yet the sector is almost nowhere to be seen in a list of the leading 100 private companies applying AI algorithms to their business.

CBInsights released its second annual collection of brands this week, based on a variety of factors including patent activity, funding history, valuation, business model, team and innovation.

One pure-play travel service provider was noted in the list: Flyr.

The company uses AI to forecast prices and consumer behavior so that travel brands (in particular, for the moment, airlines) can adjust product marketing and revenue management.

The San Francisco, U.S.-based operation has collected some $15 million in funding so far - most notably from JetBlue Technology Ventures in 2016.

So where are all the other supposed AI-led travel services (as they haven't caught the eye of CBInsights)?

Inevitably, areas such as cybersecurity and fintech lead the way, with 16 brands between them in the list.

Robotics is another strong area (seven companies), alongside enterprise software (eight).

Notable industry segments include healthcare (eight), risk management (five) and marketing (six).

CBInsights estimates that some $11.7 billion has been invested in equity funding to AI companies since 2012, across 367 individual deals.

This, it believes, has created 11 potential unicorn businesses.