Global VC Funding Boom: 58% of Investments Flowed into AI in H1 2025

In the first half of 2025, AI emerged as the dominant focus for global venture capital, capturing 58% of total funding—up from 28% in H1 2024. Q1 alone saw $60–73 billion poured into AI startups, surpassing half of all 2024 AI investment and marking over 100% year-on-year growth. Major late-stage deals drove this surge: OpenAI’s $40 billion round (valued at $300 billion), Anthropic’s $3.5 billion Series E (valued at $61.5 billion), Safe Superintelligence’s $2 billion, and Neuralink’s $650 million. Mid-stage transactions also scaled up, with median Series A rounds at $75–80 million and Series C/D rounds around $250–300 million. Investment concentrated heavily in generative AI and core model infrastructure, which attracted over $45 billion (95% of disclosed funding). Application-specific sectors such as healthcare AI ($700 million) and fintech AI ($2–3 billion) lagged behind. Geographically, the U.S. dominated with 99% of AI venture funds, led by Silicon Valley. China’s largest deal was $247 million for Zhipu AI; Europe saw only mid-sized rounds. Strategic corporate investors—cloud providers, chipmakers, defense firms—led many rounds, signaling a shift toward projects with clear market applications. Looking ahead to H2, investors will scrutinize revenue performance, regulatory compliance, and capital efficiency. IPOs (e.g., Databricks) or major M&A could reset valuations, while tighter GPU supply and regulatory milestones (EU AI Act, U.S. executive orders) will shape the landscape. Although some late-stage bubble risk exists, core AI investment fundamentals remain strong.