Global venture capital investments in AI reached a record $73.1 billion

Analysts at BestBrokers published a study on venture capital investments in the AI sector, based on data from PitchBook, CB Insights, and LIQUiDITY. According to the report, investment in AI startups reached $73.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025, accounting for 57.9% of total venture funding. Despite this, the number of investment deals decreased to 2,101, marking the lowest figure in the past five years.

The largest event of the quarter was OpenAI's $40 billion investment round, led by SoftBank. This set a record for private funding in the history of the technology sector, allowing OpenAI to increase its valuation to $300 billion, making it the most valuable AI startup in the world. Another significant deal was Anthropic's $3.5 billion funding round, which strengthened the company's position in the development of AI assistants.

The decline in the number of deals indicates a shift in trends. Investors are increasingly favoring mature AI companies with proven business models over early-stage startups. This is due to the high failure rate among AI startups: according to the study, 90% of new AI companies shut down within the first five years.

A striking example of the sharp decline in confidence in new AI startups is Builder.ai, a British company that previously secured funding from Microsoft and the Qatar Sovereign Fund but went bankrupt after it was revealed that it used manual labor from programmers instead of AI. AI company funding will continue to grow, but investors will become more cautious. The main focus is now on projects with proven effectiveness and sustainable business models, while funding for new startups will be more selective.

Source: bestbrokers