Artificial Intelligence startups are tightening their grip on venture capital funding in 2025, with new data revealing a historic shift in global investment trends. According to PitchBook data reported by Bloomberg, AI ventures have absorbed an astonishing $192.7 billion out of a total $366.8 billion in startup funding this year — making 2025 the first year AI companies are projected to claim over half of all VC investments worldwide.

In the latest quarter alone, AI projects accounted for 62.7% of total U.S. venture capital inflows and 53.2% of global investment. Industry observers say the surge underscores investors’ growing appetite for artificial intelligence applications across sectors — from automation to cloud computing.

However, this boom comes at a cost to other startups. The data shows that the number of firms successfully securing funding has plunged sharply. So far in 2025, only 823 venture funds have been raised globally, compared to 4,430 in 2022, marking one of the steepest declines in recent years.

Much of the available capital is flowing into established AI leaders such as Anthropic, which announced a record-breaking $13 billion Series F funding round in September. Smaller and non-AI startups, meanwhile, are finding it increasingly difficult to attract investor interest.

PitchBook’s Director of Research, Kyle Sanford, described the current market as “bifurcated,” noting that, “you’re in AI, or you’re not — and you’re a big firm, or you’re not.”

Analysts believe this growing divide could redefine the startup landscape, leaving non-AI sectors struggling for attention in a market now driven by machine intelligence and automation.

Source: Techcrunch