The Rise of AI in the Venture World

The latest Crunchbase report highlights the continued dominance of AI in the venture world.

In February, a staggering $189 billion in global venture capital was invested in startups, with AI startups leading the way by raising $171 billion, accounting for 90% of the total capital raised. This remarkable figure signals the beginning of a new era in AI investment.

The record-breaking investment in February exceeded the global VC spending in January by more than threefold. This surge was largely driven by massive funding rounds from three key players: OpenAI, Anthropic, and Waymo.

OpenAI made headlines with a groundbreaking $110 billion raise, one of the largest private funding rounds ever seen in the industry, valuing the company at $730 billion. Anthropic secured a $30 billion Series G funding round, valuing the company at $380 billion, while Waymo raised $16 billion at a valuation of $126 billion. Collectively, these three companies accounted for 83% of the total venture capital raised in February.

The combined funding raised by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Waymo in February alone amounted to one-third of the total $425 billion venture capital invested in 2025, according to Crunchbase data.