AI grabbed 90% of February's record $189B VC haul
SkimNews Take
Three firms absorbing 83% of monthly VC shows venture capital converting into growth equity for a handful of foundation-model and autonomy leaders, leaving roughly $32 billion for the entire rest of the market — a portfolio now closer to a single-sector bet on who wins AI infrastructure.
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- Global venture capital hit a record $189 billion in February per a new Crunchbase report, more than triple the total deployed in January
- AI startups raised $171 billion of that haul, or 90% of all venture capital invested that month
- OpenAI's $110 billion raise led the pack, valuing the company at $730 billion — described as one of the largest private rounds ever
- Anthropic closed a $30 billion Series G at a $380 billion valuation, following OpenAI as the second-largest February raise
- Waymo raised $16 billion at a $126 billion valuation, making it the third mega-round of the month
- OpenAI, Anthropic, and Waymo together accounted for 83% of every venture dollar raised in February
- Those three companies' combined $156 billion equaled roughly one-third of the entire $425 billion invested across all of 2025, per Crunchbase
Why it matters: The headline $189B figure masks extreme concentration: three companies absorbed 83% of February's venture capital, and AI's 90% share means non-AI startups are competing for the remaining $18B — a sliver of the market that looks far less frothy than the record total suggests.
