A First in VC History: AI Sector Accounts for Over Half of Annual Funding Attraction

Statistics indicate that the majority of capital has flowed to established startups—Anthropic and xAI each secured funding ranging from billions to tens of billions of dollars this quarter, while some lesser-known emerging companies have struggled, particularly those outside the artificial intelligence sector.

Kyle Sanford, Director of Research at PitchBook, noted, "No matter which sector you look at, the market is showing a polarization trend—you're either in AI, or you're completely out; you either invest in large enterprises, or you become a marginal player."

In terms of specific proportions, 62.7% of funds from U.S. venture capital firms were invested in AI companies this quarter. Zooming out to a global scale, the proportion of venture capital directed towards AI also reached 53.2%.

It is worth mentioning that OpenAI, a global leader in large AI models, set a "new peak" in global startup valuation after announcing an equity transaction earlier this week. Reportedly, current and former employees of OpenAI sold approximately $66 billion worth of shares, with buyers including Thrive Capital, SoftBank Group, Dragoneer Investment Group, MGX, T. Rowe Price, and others.

According to PitchBook data, a total of 823 venture funds globally have raised over $80 billion year-to-date. This represents a significant decline compared to 2022, when 4,430 venture institutions raised approximately $412 billion.

Sanford stated that investors in venture capital funds and venture partners "are being more cautious in selecting investment directions," and they are concentrating their capital on the artificial intelligence sector.