North American startups saw their strongest quarterly funding since 2022, with $82 billion invested in Q1 2025 but nearly half came from a single historic deal in artificial intelligence, according to new Crunchbase data released today.
The blockbuster $40 billion investment in OpenAI, led by SoftBank and announced just hours before the quarter ended, accounted for 49% of all startup funding between January and March. This single transaction the largest private funding round ever recorded – propelled late-stage investments to $66.4 billion, four times higher than the same period last year.
“These numbers show AI isn’t just another sector it’s become the entire playing field for big-ticket investing,” said Samantha Lee, partner at Silicon Valley Ventures. “When one deal represents half of a continent’s quarterly funding, we’re seeing unprecedented concentration of capital.”
Other major AI players securing massive rounds included:
- Anthropic ($4.5 billion across two financings)
- Infinite Reality ($3 billion for augmented reality tech)
- Several undisclosed AI infrastructure deals totaling $2.8 billion
However, the funding boom showed clear limits. Early-stage investments declined across the board:
- Seed funding fell 18% year-over-year
- Series A deals dropped 12%
- Total number of funded startups decreased 9%
Market analysts note the divergent trends reveal a new reality in venture capital. “Investors aren’t being cautious they’re being extremely selective,” explained Lee. “They’ll write billion-dollar checks for proven AI winners while passing on riskier early-stage bets in other sectors.”
The funding surge comes as the AI race intensifies globally, with tech giants and startups alike competing for talent, computing power, and market share. OpenAI’s massive war chest positions it to extend its lead in generative AI, while rivals like Anthropic work to close the gap.
Industry observers warn this concentration of capital could have ripple effects across the tech ecosystem. “When this much oxygen gets sucked into one sector, everything else struggles to breathe,” noted MIT researcher Dr. Evan Park. “We’re seeing that play out in the early-stage numbers.”
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