Foundational AI Funding in Q1 Doubled All of 2025 — $178B Across Just 24 Deals vs $89B Across 66
Crunchbase News·high signal
Crunchbase sector data shows foundational AI startups raised $178 billion across just 24 deals in Q1 2026, compared to $88.9 billion across 66 deals in all of 2025. Four of the five largest venture rounds ever: OpenAI ($122B), Anthropic ($30B), xAI ($20B), and Waymo ($16B) — collectively $188B or 65% of global venture investment. This extreme concentration creates unprecedented winner-take-most dynamics at the foundation layer, with implications for every SaaS tool built on top of these models.