Crunchbase data shows global venture investment totaled $189 billion in February — the largest startup funding month on record — although 83% of capital raised went to just three companies.
Crunchbase data shows global venture investment totaled $189 billion in February — the largest startup funding month on record — although 83% of capital raised went to just three companies. They include OpenAI , which raised $110 billion , also in the largest round ever raised by a private, venture-backed company. The record month for venture funding took place against the backdrop of a trillion-dollar stock market drop as AI compute and tooling unsettled leading public software companies. All told, venture investment was up close to 780% year over year from the $21.5 billion raised by startups in February 2025. OpenAI was not the only company to raise tens of billions of dollars last month. Its closest rival, Anthropic , raised $30 billion , marking the third-largest venture round on record.