While funding for AI companies has increased this year and focused on fewer companies, Crunchbase data shows that a mix of private and alternative investors, large tech companies and venture capital firms have led the way.
AI-related companies have raised $118 billion as of August 15, up from $108 billion for all of 2024. Funding for the sector has more than doubled over the same period.
The proportions are also on the rise: 48% of global venture capital funding since the start of the year has been invested in AI-related companies, up from a third in 2024.
Capital concentrates
A few selected companies have raised a larger proportion of funding in this sector.
Of that $118 billion, eight companies collectively raised $73 billion through billion-dollar funding rounds, accounting for 62% of AI-related company funding. This includes a $40 billion increase by OpenAI.
Compare that with 2024, when 13 AI-related companies raised $47 billion, representing 44% of AI funding that year.
In 2024 and 2025, six of these companies raised billions of dollars in both years. They include, in order of total funding since 2024, OpenAI, xAI, Evolving AI, Anthropic, Anduril Industries And Safe superintelligence.
Meanwhile, billion-dollar shares in non-AI companies stood at 4% of funding in 2025 and 5% in 2024.
Lead the biggest engagements
Investors include a diverse mix.
SoftBank led – by far – with the $40 billion round he led in OpenAI at a valuation of $300 billion.
Holm oaks led the $2 billion funding for Safe Superintelligence, and Prosperous capitalization led both a $900 million funding round in Any sphere and $600 million in Isomorphic laboratories.
On the business side, Meta, EspaceX And Google are those who have engaged the most so far this year. Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI at a valuation of $29 billion, including its founder Alexander Wang join Meta. SpaceX led the $5 billion funding in xAI. Google invested in AI Labs, $1 billion in Anthropic and $300 million in AI21 laboratories.
On the venture capital front, the largest funding rounds were led by Lightspeed Venture Partnerswho led a subsequent $3.5 billion funding round in Anthropic, Andreessen Horowitz led the $2 billion funding round Mira MuratiIt is Thinking Machine Laboratory, Founders Fund led a $2.5 billion funding round in Anduril, Accelerate led a half-billion dollar round in PerplexityAnd Khosla Ventures led the Series C for Click on Homeas well as co-directed Shortenof Series E. Other investors who have co-led large rounds in the space are Kleiner Perkins‘ investment in Applied intuitionAnd Alumni Ventures’ participation in LambdaThe D series from , to name a few.
With the large dollar commitment and frenzied deals in AI companies, the dry powder in the US venture capital industry could fall below 2019 levels, according to data tracked by Jon Sakoda of Decibel partnersas reported The information.
As AI companies show meteoric growth, investors will continue to compete to invest in big rounds at huge valuations. As fundraising has slowed in recent years, venture capital firms may have to turn to their limited partners for funds.
Methodology
The data in this report comes directly from Crunchbase and is based on reported data. Data reported is as of August 15, 2025.
AI includes all startups tagged with the sectors of our artificial intelligence industrial group. These include AI infrastructure, AI labs and native AI applications or where AI is at the heart of its business operations.
It is worth noting that data lags are more pronounced in the early stages of VC activity, with seed funding amounts increasing significantly after the end of a quarter/year.
Please note that all financing values are quoted in US dollars unless otherwise noted. Crunchbase converts foreign currencies to U.S. dollars at the spot rate in effect from the date financing rounds, acquisitions, IPOs, and other financial events are reported. Even though these events were added to Crunchbase long after the event was announced, currency transactions are converted at the historical spot price.
Glossary of financing terms
Seeds and Angels consist of seeds, pre-seeds and angel rounds. Crunchbase also includes seed rounds, equity crowdfunding, and convertible notes in amounts of $3 million (USD or converted USD equivalent) or less.
The early stage includes Series A and B rounds, as well as other types of rounds. Crunchbase includes seed rounds, venture projects and other rounds over $3 million, as well as those under $15 million.
Advanced phases include Series C, D, E and subsequent venture capital series of letters following the naming convention “Series (Letter)”. Also included are unknown series rounds, corporate projects and other rounds above $15 million. Corporate funding rounds are only included if a company has raised early-stage equity funding through a venture capital series funding round.
Tech Growth is a private equity round raised by a company that has already raised a venture round. (So basically any round of the previously defined steps.)
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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