Global venture capital (VC) investment reached $512.1 billion last year, marking the third-highest amount in the last decade and reflecting a robust enthusiasm in the sector. According to a report by the economic research arm of Samjeong KPMG, large deals involving American tech giants like OpenAI and Anthropic contributed significantly to this surge, despite ongoing global geopolitical uncertainties and tariff disputes. The investment figure grew by 30.7% from the previous year, driven primarily by the continued interest in AI technologies.

Of the top ten global venture deals last year, eight were related to AI and machine learning, highlighting the sector's dominance. OpenAI received a massive $40 billion investment from SoftBank, noted as the largest private investment on record. Additionally, Anthropic secured substantial funding in successive rounds throughout the year, culminating in a $15 billion investment in November. The report emphasizes a growing polarization in valuations between early and late-stage VC investments, with large deals increasingly focusing on established firms like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Investments in AI and machine learning totaled $270.2 billion, a staggering 80.6% increase from the previous year, accounting for 52.7% of total venture investments. The investment landscape has diversified, including areas like AI infrastructure, data centers, small language models, and robotics. The trend towards major funding rounds is particularly pronounced, with eight U.S. AI firms raising over $1 billion each, reinforcing the concentration of venture capital in the American tech ecosystem and its implications for the global innovation landscape.