AI funding boom drives a 30% surge in startup investments... OpenAI and SpaceX become the dominant forces

In 2025, global startup investment amounts surged by 30% compared to the previous year, once again setting a new record high. Centered around leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies such as OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic, large-scale investments flooded in, reversing the overall atmosphere of the venture capital ecosystem. The total investment amount last year reached $425 billion (approximately 612 trillion KRW), a significant increase from $328 billion (approximately 472 trillion KRW) in 2024.

According to Crunchbase statistics, this year’s defining feature is undoubtedly “super investments.” OpenAI set a record for the largest private financing round in history with $40 billion (approximately 576 trillion KRW), while SpaceX achieved a new milestone with a private market valuation of $800 billion (approximately 1,152 trillion KRW). Google (GOOGL) acquired cybersecurity firm Wiz for $32 billion (approximately 460 trillion KRW), marking the largest M&A supported by venture capital in corporate history.

The concentration of investments in 2025 is especially evident in AI companies. Five firms—OpenAI, Scale AI, Anthropic, Project Prometheus, and xAI—each raised over $5 billion, collectively absorbing $84 billion (approximately 121 trillion KRW), accounting for 20% of the total annual investment. Under the trend of high startup valuations, the total market capitalization of unicorns increased from $5.5 trillion at the end of 2024 to over $7.5 trillion (approximately 1.08 quadrillion KRW) by the end of 2025.

Looking at by country, the United States performed notably. In 2025, US startups received a total of $274 billion (approximately 395 trillion KRW), accounting for 64% of global investments. This is an increase from 56% in 2024 and is considered to have decisively reversed the stagnation of US market share at 47-48% since 2019.

AI also solidified its position as the most capital-attracting industry in 2025. About half of all venture capital was concentrated in AI-related companies, with a total of $211 billion (approximately 304 trillion KRW) flowing into the sector. This represents an 85% increase from the previous year and is the largest single-year AI investment in global history. The biotech/healthcare sector followed with $71.7 billion, and the finance sector with $52 billion.

Quarterly, investments maintained or exceeded the levels of the previous quarter. In Q4 2025, funding exceeded $113 billion (approximately 162 trillion KRW), a 14% increase from the same period last year and a 13% increase from the previous quarter. Of this, late-stage investments alone reached about $66.5 billion, with early-stage investments also showing significant growth. Early (seed round) financing amounted to $9.9 billion (approximately 14.2 trillion KRW), with large seed rounds over $20 million accounting for 25%.

Another notable trend is “capital concentration.” Nearly 60% of all venture funds were concentrated in 629 companies with funding exceeding $100 million, while just 68 companies with funding over $500 million received one-third of the total investments. Compared to 24% in 2024, this is considered a significant shift.

The M&A market was also very active. The global M&A scale reached the second-highest level in history, especially in the US, where it surpassed the record set in 2021. The IPO market also showed signs of restarting. As the likelihood of high-valuation companies going public increases, experts predict that a series of large IPOs will likely advance in the first half of 2026.

Additionally, Crunchbase forecasts that “AI, fintech, and defense technology will dominate the IPO market in 2026,” and analysis suggests that capital flow will continue to be selectively concentrated rather than bubble-like.

Overall, 2025 is regarded as a year when venture capital flows surpassed mere recovery, ushering in a structural and strategic turning point. Under the paradigm of rapid growth led by the AI industry, the venture capital market is being reinvigorated with renewed energy.