Global capital eyes AI agents… Investment increased 9.2 times in 2 years

Korea Economic Daily

Summary

Last year, investments in the AI agent sector reached $1.1 billion, with the investment volume soaring by 919% over two years.
In contrast, investments in other emerging technology fields such as future mobility and biotechnology saw significant declines during the same period.
McKinsey & Company notes that while the AI agent market is showing positive signs—such as entering a growth phase and a surge in demand for skilled talent—commercialization remains in the early stages.

McKinsey Technology Trends Report

Related job postings increased by 985%

Last year, investments in artificial intelligence (AI) agents alone amounted to $1.1 billion (₩1,514.7 billion). According to McKinsey & Company's 'Technology Trends Outlook 2025' report released on the 27th, this figure is a 919% surge compared to 2022, marking the highest investment growth rate among the 13 technology trends covered during the same period. The report analyzed, "AI agents still account for a small overall investment volume, but are receiving unprecedented attention in terms of growth rate."

Within the global tech ecosystem, AI agents are rapidly entering the 'growth phase' at an overwhelming pace, representing a clear contrast to other emerging technologies, which have seen declining investments in recent years. For example, in the future mobility sector, investments fell by 33.4% from $197.5 billion in 2020 to $131.6 billion in 2024. Similarly, future biotechnology investments decreased by more than half, from $127.2 billion to $57.3 billion over the same period.

The growth of AI agents is also evident in the employment market. According to McKinsey & Company, the number of AI agent–related job postings jumped 985% in the past year (2023–2024). Demand has been focused on highly skilled talent such as software engineers, data scientists, and prompt engineers, with core competencies including Python, machine learning, and natural language processing. This suggests that companies require highly specialized personnel capable of designing AI system architectures and optimizing learning processes.

AI agents are evolving beyond simple chatbots and Q&A–style AI into 'virtual colleagues' that independently plan and handle tasks by integrating various tools. McKinsey & Company predicts, "The relationship between humans and machines is shifting from 'replacement' to 'augmentation,' with the boundary between humans and AI agents blurring, and possibly expanding into a 'co-creation' phase."

However, in terms of commercialization, most experts view the field as still being in its early stages. Most implementations are in pilot (preliminary) phases, and challenges remain, such as establishing accountability for AI agents and developing legal and ethical standards.

Jeonghoon An, Reporter ajh6321@hankyung.com

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