AI has become a "superstar" in the technology industry! Startups raised a total of 73.1 billion dollars in Q1.

Data analyst Paul Hoffman from the investment research platform BestBrokers stated that artificial intelligence (AI) startups have become "superstars" in the tech industry, attracting billions of dollars in funding, but investor enthusiasm may be cooling. According to a report from BestBrokers, in the first quarter of 2025, there were a total of 2101 VC-backed AI transactions, totaling $73.1 billion, accounting for 57.9% of all VC funding in that quarter. However, the report added, "Despite rapid growth, the latest data suggests that investor enthusiasm may be cooling", with the number of AI VC transactions in the first quarter of 2025 dropping to the lowest level in five years. The AI craze is spreading globally, with more and more companies increasing their investments in AI. Tech giants such as Alphabet (GOOGL.US), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) are also actively embracing this technology. According to a report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the global AI market is expected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033. AI startups have also experienced a wave of investment. Earlier this year, the company behind ChatGPT, OpenAI, raised a massive $40 billion financing led by SoftBank, increasing its valuation from $157 billion to $300 billion, making it the largest VC-backed financing transaction so far in 2025. The report also specifically mentioned two startups that have attracted significant financing. The first is Anthropic, supported by Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US). The startup, which launched the large language model Claude, raised $3.5 billion in a financing round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with a post-financing valuation of $61.5 billion. Other participating investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, Cisco Investments, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, etc. The other is Infinite Reality, which just released its product and received a $3 billion investment from an undisclosed investor, bringing the company's valuation to $12 billion. The report also noted that despite the relatively calm overall AI VC activity in the first quarter of 2025, with only 7,551 transactions recorded, the total funding amount still reached $126.3 billion, the highest quarterly amount since 2022. Paul Hoffman said, "The decline in the number of global VC transactions coincides with the sharp increase in investment in the AI field. Venture capital firms are becoming more cautious in their investments in startups." He added that, at the same time, major investors such as SoftBank, Andreessen Horowitz, and Lightspeed Venture Partners are also increasing their long-term investments in mature AI unicorn companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.