The total amount of funding for startups ticked up for the year, rising by about one-third from 2023. Meanwhile, VCs themselves raised US$76.1 billion for 508 funds, the lowest number since 2014, and the lowest dollar amount since 2019.
Venture capitalists put US$97 billion ($132.4 billion) into artificial intelligence (AI) startu-ps in the US last year — a new record in a year of multibillion-dollar megarounds for companies like Elon Musk’s xAI, OpenAI and Anthropic.
The AI-focused deals represent an increasing share of all startup investment, according to new PitchBook data released Tuesday. Almost half of the total US$209 billion raised by US startups last year went to AI companies, the research firm said, the highest portion on record.
