Artificial intelligence is helping revive innovation investment, with global research and development expected to reach $3.4 trillion in 2026 and corporate R&D hitting a record $1.5 trillion in 2025, according to the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Venture-capital deal numbers fell for a fourth consecutive year, but their value rose 28% to $510 billion in 2025 as funding became increasingly concentrated in AI. AI represented 53% of global venture-capital deal value in 2025 and 77% during the first half of 2026. WIPO officials said AI is accelerating discovery and could help address a productivity slowdown in high-income economies, while warning that innovation investment must broaden beyond large language models and avoid weakening sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automobiles and construction. Switzerland led the Global Innovation Index for a 16th consecutive year, followed by Sweden, the United States, South Korea and Singapore. China rose from 35th place in 2013 to 10th, while India advanced from 66th to 38th. Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou remained the leading innovation cluster, and China accounted for most of the biggest risers among cities and regions.