Prime Highlight
- Artificial intelligence startups in the US raised a record $150 billion in 2025, surpassing the previous high of $92 billion in 2021.
- Major funding rounds for OpenAI and Anthropic highlight strong investor confidence in AI and large language model technologies.
Key Facts
- OpenAI secured $41 billion in a single funding round led by SoftBank, while Anthropic raised $13 billion in 2025.
- Venture capital firms, including Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Tiger Global, are raising new funds to support the booming AI investment landscape.
Background
Artificial intelligence startups in the United States raised a record $150 billion in 2025, showing strong investor confidence in the fast-growing sector, according to data from PitchBook.
The figure beats the earlier funding high of $92 billion set in 2021. Investors poured money into leading AI firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Scale AI as demand for advanced AI tools continued to rise across industries.
OpenAI raised $41 billion in a funding round led by SoftBank, making it the largest deal of the year. Rival company Anthropic raised $13 billion, showing another big investment in large language models. Several other AI startups, including Perplexity, Anysphere, and Thinking Machines Lab, also secured multiple rounds of funding during the year.
Venture capital firms said the fresh flow of money could help companies survive any slowdown in the AI boom. Many investors remain concerned about the high cost of building and running AI systems, especially as companies spend heavily on data centres, chips, and cloud services.
Some venture capitalists advised startup founders to use the current funding wave wisely. They told companies to build large cash reserves while investors are interested, in case the market slows in the coming months.
The funding rush has also pushed major venture capital firms to expand their own war chests. Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Tiger Global have started raising new funds to match the scale of investments flowing into the AI space.
Analysts said the numbers show that artificial intelligence has become the top priority for investors in the US technology sector. They added that while funding may slow in the future, the large deals in 2025 have already reshaped the startup market and set a new benchmark for AI investment.
