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The surge was led by OpenAI’s $40bn raise, with AI firms including Anthropic, Infinite Reality, and Groq securing eight of the 10 largest global VC deals in Q1 2025.
AI companies accounted for eight of the 10 largest VC deals in Q1 2025. (Photo: Joyseulay/Shutterstock)
AI companies raised at least $52bn out of the $126.3bn in global venture capital (VC) deployed during Q1 2025, according to KPMG Private Enterprise’s Venture Pulse Q1 2025 report. The surge was led by OpenAI’s record-breaking $40bn transaction, the largest VC funding deal ever recorded. AI-focused companies dominated eight of the 10 largest global venture deals during the quarter, with Anthropic securing $3.5bn across two closings, Infinite Reality raising $3bn, and Groq adding $1.5bn. Combined, these four US-based firms accounted for over $48bn.
“AI is driving a large bulk of global VC investment right now, buoying investment levels that might otherwise be soft,” said KPMG International partner Francois Chadwick. “It is an exciting space too, with an incredible reach both in terms of geographies that are attracting investments — if not often at the size of deals in the US — and in terms of the solutions gaining attention. Industry-focused solutions are going to be particularly hot over the next quarter as startups continue to target the intersection of AI and industry in order to drive unique business value.”
How global regions contributed to AI venture capital growth in Q1 2025
Additional US AI-related investments included $537m by KoBold Metals, $480m by Lambda, and $403m by Apptronik, which is developing humanoid robotics. These later-stage deals contributed to a broader upward trend in deal size, with Series D+ median rounds in the Americas reaching $96.2m during the quarter.
Europe also saw significant AI deal activity. UK-based Isomorphic Labs raised $600m to expand AI-powered drug discovery. Sweden’s Neko Health secured $260m, and Synthesia in the UK raised $180m to scale AI-generated video solutions. A $500m raise by Ori, also in the UK, and $150m by Cera, a healthtech company leveraging AI for preventative care, added to the region’s AI investment momentum.
In Asia-Pacific, AI investments featured in a number of mid-sized rounds despite regional venture activity falling to a ten-year low. China-based Neolix Technologies and Univista each raised $137m. Australia’s Harrison.ai brought in $111m, while Hong Kong- and Boston-based InSilico Medicine secured $100m, and India-based Spotdraft raised $54m.
Foundational model development remained active in China, with the launch of three new AI models in Q1, including DeepSeek’s R1 and additional offerings from Tencent and Alibaba. According to KPMG, these models were positioned as more energy-efficient than earlier versions, reinforcing China’s competitiveness in large language model innovation. The report also highlighted the role of corporate investment. Global corporate venture capital (CVC) investment increased to $80.8bn from $69.4bn in Q4 2024. In the US alone, $65.5bn of CVC was recorded, with AI megadeals accounting for a large share.
In terms of public market activity, the quarter featured a single AI IPO. US-based infrastructure company CoreWeave went public but delivered a muted post-listing performance, signalling investor caution amid geopolitical volatility and trade tensions.
Policy support for AI also intensified. The US government announced the Stargate Project, which is a $500bn initiative aimed at building national AI infrastructure, backed by OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and MGX. Meanwhile, the European Union and China unveiled large-scale public investment plans targeting AI ecosystems and semiconductor development.
Looking ahead, KPMG expects AI to remain the primary driver of global VC activity into Q2 2025. Areas likely to attract continued funding include robotics, agentic AI, LIDAR systems, and sector-specific AI applications. Merger and acquisitions (M&A) activity is also projected to accelerate as established companies move to acquire AI capabilities in a subdued IPO environment.
Read more: Global AI venture capital reaches $110bn in 2024, driven by foundational models
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