If you’re not an AI startup, good luck raising money from VCs

if-you’re-not-an-ai-startup,-good-luck-raising-money-from-vcs

New PitchBook data illustrates how dramatically AI is dominating startup investment, with 2025 on-track to become the first year when AI accounts for more than half of all VC money invested.

PitchBook reports that VCs have poured $192.7 billion into the industry so far this year, out of a total $366.8 billion, according to Bloomberg. In the most recent quarter, AI accounted for 62.7% of the money invested by U.S. VCs, and for 53.2% of money invested by global firms.

Most of that money is going to marquee names like Anthropic, which announced a $13 billion Series F in September. Meanwhile, the number of startups and venture funds successfully raising money are at their lowest levels in years — PitchBook says that 823 funds have been raised globally so far in 2025, compared to 4,430 in 2022.

PitchBook’s director of research Kyle Sanford told Bloomberg that the market is becoming “bifurcated,” where “you’re in AI, or you’re not” and “you’re a big firm, or you’re not.”

Related Posts

Leave a Reply