AI startups captured 41% of venture capital in 2025, with top firms like OpenAI and xAI raising billions at sky-high valuations.
San Francisco: AI startups captured 41% of the $128 billion in venture capital raised by companies on Carta last year—a record high. Last year, investors rushed to put money into AI companies. About 10% of startups got half of all the funding.
Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI raised billions at very high valuations. In January, xAI raised $20 billion. In February, OpenAI raised $110 billion—one of the biggest private funding rounds ever. This brings OpenAI close to a $1 trillion value.
Anthropic raised $30 billion at a $380 billion value last month. These three companies took up much of the $189 billion raised globally last month. They are planning to go public later this year, exciting investors who want to buy shares.
The venture market is now split in two ways. Some firms and startups get most of the money while others get very little. Rounds have become harder to get, but companies that do get funding receive more money than before.
Peter Walker from Carta explains: “Fewer bets, but more capital. AI startups raise bigger rounds because running AI models costs a lot.” The data shows that funds raised after ChatGPT launched in late 2022 have made the highest returns. This is good news for investors backing leading AI companies.
Walker says newer funds look successful partly because they invested in early rounds and those companies raised more money later. It also helps that recent funds invested in AI-native startups when older funds did not.
Time will tell if this enthusiasm leads to real returns through big IPOs or acquisitions, or if we are just in a bubble phase that might pop.