Global VC investment hit a record $297B in Q1 2026, up 150% YoY, with AI startups capturing 81% of the funding; just four companies raised 64% of the total (Gené Teare/Crunchbase News)
Gené Teare / Crunchbase News : Global VC investment hit a record $297B in Q1 2026, up 150% YoY, with AI startups capturing 81% of the funding; just four companies raised 64% of the total — The first quarter of 2026 was unlike any other for venture investment, driven by unprecedented spending on AI compute and frontier labs.
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OpenAI raises $3bn from retail investors as part of record funding haul - Financial Times
<a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMihAFBVV95cUxOQmJVSU8xLVZrOEw4d2stOGc0eHo0NVpTUlZSNjJCMEVvRkdWNjRVQlRBcmlXV01SRWV5V1Zrbkw4NHlNVlVNeXBNWE1QWnFmS1RzWkdEWC1yUkNJdzBXQUp3LXNFTjQ0QUdnUFktUS1NeUU3d0xlNkd5N196SkduWk5CME4?oc=5" target="_blank">OpenAI raises $3bn from retail investors as part of record funding haul</a> <font color="#6f6f6f">Financial Times</font>
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OpenAI raises $3bn from retail investors as part of record funding haul - Financial Times
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