AI Investment & Funding News
Where capital is flowing in AI — funding rounds, valuations, and market trends relevant to growth and innovation.
AI startup funding, venture capital, IPOs, and valuations — the money moving through artificial intelligence and the trends worth tracking.
Nvidia in Talks to Invest in Perplexity AI at $30 Billion-Plus Valuation — a 50% Jump in Two Months
Nvidia is discussing an equity investment in AI search startup Perplexity as part of a new funding round that would value the company at more than $30 billion, according to The Information — up from roughly $20 billion just two months ago. Nvidia has also reportedly explored a technology licensing deal with Perplexity. The investment fits Nvidia's established pattern of taking equity stakes across the AI ecosystem, from OpenAI to Anthropic to xAI, while ensuring future demand for its chips.
Startup Fortune / The InformationPeak XV's Shailendra Singh Says Venture Capital Is Becoming 'Marginal' in AI Funding as Enterprise Capital Takes Over
Peak XV Partners MD Shailendra Singh argued at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum that traditional venture capital firms are becoming structurally sidelined in AI investment because the capital requirements for foundation model development — compute, energy, infrastructure — far exceed what most VC funds can deploy. He cited HCLTech's investment in Sarvam AI and Amazon's multi-billion dollar support for Anthropic as evidence that large enterprises are better positioned to fund AI growth. Peak XV itself raised a $1.3 billion fund and is increasingly investing in U.S.-based AI startups alongside Indian ones.
Economic TimesSpaceX Acquires AI Coding Startup Cursor for $60 Billion in All-Stock Deal Following Historic IPO
SpaceX completed a $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Anysphere, the maker of AI coding tool Cursor, just days after completing what was described as the biggest IPO in history, with the company filing under 'computer programming and data processing' rather than aerospace — reflecting that 85% of its proposed market is now classified as AI. The deal initially sent SpaceX shares to an all-time high of $225.64 before hawkish Federal Reserve signals triggered a pullback. The acquisition signals SpaceX's strategic repositioning as an AI infrastructure company rather than a pure aerospace firm.
TradingKeyAI Accounting Startup Rillet Reaches $1 Billion Valuation in 48-Hour Funding Round It Wasn't Seeking
Rillet, an AI-native accounting startup, closed a $100 million Series C at a $1 billion-plus valuation in just 48 hours after CEO Nicholas Koop shared growth metrics at a routine board meeting — triggering an unexpected bidding war between Iconiq Capital and Sequoia Capital. The company did not disclose revenue figures but is reportedly growing triple digits year-over-year. The deal illustrates intense VC demand for AI companies with demonstrated enterprise revenue traction rather than pure potential.
TechBuzz.aia16z's AI Infrastructure Funds Deliver Record Exits as OpenAI and Anthropic Revenue Figures Face IPO Scrutiny
Andreessen Horowitz's AI infrastructure investment practice posted a landmark week with major exits including Cursor and OpenRouter, validating its strategy of raising dedicated sector funds that have grown from $1.25 billion in 2024 to $1.7 billion in a single raise in 2026. Meanwhile, OpenAI and Anthropic's revenue figures are being closely examined ahead of their planned mega-IPOs, with Anthropic's annualized revenue above $11.5 billion falling slightly short of some of the most aggressive analyst projections. Sequoia topped the leaderboard for investments in newly minted unicorns during the period.
NewcomerStarcloud Raises $250 Million at $2.3 Billion Valuation to Build AI Data Centers in Orbit
Starcloud, a startup developing orbital data centers to expand AI computing infrastructure, has raised $250 million at a $2.3 billion valuation. The company is betting that space-based data centers can offer advantages in cooling, power access, and geographic reach that ground-based facilities cannot easily replicate. SpaceX's recent IPO has reignited investor interest in space infrastructure, creating favorable conditions for orbital computing bets.
BNN Bloomberg / ReutersAirwallex Raises $320 Million Series H at $11 Billion Valuation as Late-Stage AI and Fintech Rounds Reach Record Scale
Fintech company Airwallex closed a $320 million Series H led by Addition at an $11 billion valuation, up from $8 billion just months earlier, as it expands into autonomous finance powered by AI. The round is emblematic of a broader late-stage funding surge, with Databricks simultaneously assembling investors for an unprecedented Series M at a $188 billion valuation. U.S. startups pulled in $145 billion in VC funding in the most recent quarter, dwarfing Asia's $35.1 billion.
FortuneNvidia in Early Talks to License Technology or Acquire South Korean AI Chip Startup Rebellions
Bloomberg reports Nvidia is in early-stage discussions with South Korean AI chip startup Rebellions about potential technology licensing, equity investment, or outright acquisition. Rebellions, founded in 2020 and backed by Samsung, SK Hynix, SK Telecom, and government funds, specializes in AI inference NPUs and has raised approximately $850 million at a $2.3 billion valuation. The talks carry strategic weight as South Korea has designated Rebellions a key asset in its national AI chip ambitions, and any deal faces domestic political scrutiny.
TradingKey / BloombergNvidia in Talks to Fund AI Data Labeling Supplier Mercor at $20 Billion Valuation
Nvidia is in discussions to invest in Mercor, an AI data supply company, at a reported $20 billion valuation, according to The Information. The potential deal would deepen Nvidia's vertical integration into the AI training data pipeline, complementing its dominant position in AI chips. Details of the round size and structure were not disclosed.
The InformationSouth Korea Launches ₩880 Billion Ultra-Long-Term Tech Fund With 16-Year Investment Horizon
South Korea's Financial Services Commission has issued a request for proposals for asset managers to run an ₩880 billion (approximately $630 million) ultra-long-term technology fund with a 16-year lifespan, with seven managers to be selected in October. The fund is designed to provide patient capital for deep-tech sectors including AI that require extended development timelines. It represents a government-backed counterweight to short-term market pressures on technology investment.
Biggo FinanceOpenAI Targets 2027 IPO as CFO Moves to Reassure Staff Amid Anthropic Competition
OpenAI has internally targeted a 2027 IPO window, with its CFO reportedly briefing staff to address concerns about falling behind Anthropic in the race to public markets. The competitive dynamic reflects broader anxiety that premium AI valuations may not hold indefinitely, pushing both companies to move quickly. OpenAI's Q2 revenue reportedly grew 18% quarter-over-quarter to $6.7 billion, though losses widened from $9.3 billion to $12.3 billion.
TechBuzz AIGlobal Corporate AI Investment Topped $489 Billion in 2025, With Hyperscaler CapEx Redefining Infrastructure Scale
A new GlobeNewswire report pegs total global corporate AI investment at $489.6 billion in 2025, representing 124% year-over-year growth, with private AI investment alone hitting $290.1 billion. Alphabet has guided 2026 capital expenditure to $180–$190 billion and Microsoft to approximately $190 billion, while OpenAI contracted $300 billion in computing from Oracle over roughly five years. The report highlights a structural shift in capital allocation across the full AI value chain, from frontier model developers to pharmaceutical and financial institutions.
GlobeNewswireSpaceX Bid to Acquire AI Coding Startup Cognition Rejected as Valuation Jumps to $40 Billion
Cognition, maker of the Devin AI software engineering agent, rebuffed an acquisition approach from SpaceX after the startup's valuation rose from $26 billion in a May funding round to at least $40 billion in fresh financing talks. The rejection reflects Cognition's confidence in its independent growth trajectory and reduces SpaceX's appetite to pursue the deal further. Cognition's Devin is designed to automate programming tasks end-to-end for software engineering teams.
BeInCryptoChip Designer Velaura AI Reaches $1 Billion Valuation With $110 Million Series A Targeting Data Center Power Efficiency
Velaura AI, a chip design startup focused on reducing power consumption and operating costs at AI data centers, was valued at over $1 billion after closing a $110 million Series A led by Seligman Ventures. Samsung Catalyst Fund, StepStone Group, and Maverick Silicon also participated. The round reflects growing investor focus on energy efficiency as a critical bottleneck in AI infrastructure scaling.
ReutersAI Chip Startup Etched Doubles Valuation to $21 Billion in Under a Month After $700 Million Round
Etched, a San Jose-based AI inference chip startup, raised $700 million in a new round led by Jane Street — after the quant firm reportedly tested and purchased the hardware — bringing its valuation to $21 billion, up from $10.3 billion just one month earlier in July. The company builds specialized 'frontier inference clusters' designed to make running AI models faster and cheaper, competing directly with Nvidia's AI factory systems. Investors include Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, and Tiger Global.
ReutersWispr Flow AI Dictation Startup Triples Valuation to $2 Billion in Nine Months
San Francisco-based Wispr Flow has raised $280 million in a Series B round led by Menlo Ventures, nearly tripling its valuation from $700 million to $2 billion in under a year. The company makes AI-powered voice-to-text dictation software designed for hands-free work and writing. The rapid valuation jump reflects intense investor enthusiasm for voice-interface AI tools as a productivity category.
Reuters / AOLDefense AI Startup Smack Technologies Raises $61 Million Series B as Pentagon Scrambles to Diversify AI Vendors
Smack Technologies, which builds AI decision-making tools and wearable AI hardware for military use, has raised a $61 million Series B from Costanoa Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Geodesic Capital, and others. The round comes after the Defense Department classified Anthropic as a 'supply-chain risk' in March, triggering a scramble by military branches to diversify AI suppliers. Smack has also won two undisclosed prototyping contracts from the Joint Fires Network and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab.
Economic TimesAnthropic Run-Rate Revenue Hits $65 Billion as IPO Looms
Anthropic's annualized revenue run rate has reached $65 billion, a significant milestone as the company prepares for a widely anticipated IPO. This figure underscores the rapid commercial scaling of Claude-based products across enterprise and API customers. The new revenue data represents a concrete financial update beyond the valuation and IPO timeline speculation covered in recent digests.
Unite.AIDOJ Opens Antitrust Probe into Andreessen Horowitz Over Dual Board Seats at Competing AI Companies
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation into venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), examining whether its investment partners are improperly serving on the boards of competing AI companies including Databricks and Fivetran. The probe reflects growing regulatory scrutiny of VC firms' influence across the AI ecosystem as portfolio overlaps become increasingly common at the frontier. If enforcement action follows, it could reshape how major VC firms structure their AI investments and board representation.
San Francisco Business TimesGoldman Sachs Estimates Global AI Investment Will Hit $1 Trillion in 2026, Rising to 1.4% of Global GDP by 2028
Goldman Sachs Research has published a sweeping estimate that global AI-related investment will reach approximately $1 trillion in 2026 — including $581 billion in the U.S. alone — and could account for 1.4% of global GDP by 2028. The figure is broader than standard hyperscaler capex estimates, incorporating private company AI spending worldwide. Cumulative AI investment since 2022 is on track to hit $1.8 trillion by year-end, raising macroeconomic questions about when growth could plateau.
Economic TimesNscale Targets U.S. IPO by September 2026 with $51 Billion in Contracted AI Infrastructure Revenue
UK-based AI infrastructure company Nscale is preparing for a U.S. IPO backed by Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, with $51 billion in contracted revenue and over $100 million in Q2 2026 revenue following its $2 billion Series C. Separately, Lightspeed is seeking $600 billion in secondary funds via 'Project Mercury' to extend its OpenAI and Anthropic positions, while Khosla Ventures is raising $5.5 billion across new funds. The activity underscores sustained institutional conviction in AI infrastructure as a long-term asset class.
TechBuzz AI / SignalPulseHiggsfield AI Video Startup Valued at $5.4 Billion in Round Backed by Goldman Sachs and Intel
Higgsfield, an AI video generation startup, has reached a $5.4 billion valuation in a new funding round backed by Goldman Sachs and Intel Capital. The deal reflects continued investor appetite for generative video AI despite a broader market debate over AI valuation sustainability. Higgsfield competes in a rapidly crowding space that includes Runway, Sora, and Chinese rivals like Kling AI.
Financial TimesOpenAI Files Confidentially for Q4 2026 IPO After Reaching $852 Billion Valuation in May Funding Round
OpenAI formally submitted confidential IPO filings to the SEC in June 2026 and is expected to list in Q4 2026, having reached an $852 billion valuation after completing a $122 billion financing round in May. The company's funding history shows extraordinary acceleration — from a $29 billion valuation in early 2023 to nearly $1 trillion in roughly three years. The IPO would rank among the largest in history and is being watched as a key test of whether AI-sector valuations can sustain public-market scrutiny.
TradingKeyMicron Launches $250 Million Paradigm Fund Targeting AI Infrastructure Startups, Bringing Total VC Commitments to $550 Million
Micron Technology launched its $250 million Paradigm Fund, its largest corporate venture fund to date, targeting AI infrastructure startups across model architecture, compute, enterprise applications, and physical AI. The fund brings Micron's total venture capital commitments across three fund vintages (2019, 2022, and 2026) to $550 million, signaling a deliberate long-term strategy to capture value throughout the AI supply chain. The launch came alongside strong financial results, with Micron shares rising on Q4 guidance set at $51 billion amid 346% year-over-year growth.
ScanX TradeAI VC Valuations Compress Returns as Entry Prices for Top Startups Reach $10–32 Billion at Seed-Adjacent Stages
A new analysis highlights that ballooning AI startup valuations are structurally compressing venture returns: Thinking Machines' first-round valuation hit $12 billion while SSI reached $32 billion within a year of founding, meaning investors now need exits of $100 billion or more to achieve a 10x return on early bets. While VC fundraising for AI is at record levels, the math of achieving outsized returns at these entry prices is increasingly difficult. Analysts warn that a substantial portion of future growth expectations has already been priced into current valuations.
WEEXDatabricks Closes $5 Billion Strategic Round at $190 Billion Valuation
Databricks has closed a $5 billion strategic funding round that values the data intelligence and AI company at $190 billion — up dramatically from a $62 billion valuation in a prior round. The company has been expanding its product suite with Lakebase (an open-source database for AI agents), Genie (an AI coworker that turns business data into actions), and Unity AI Gateway (for AI governance and cost control). The valuation reflects strong investor conviction that data infrastructure will be a critical bottleneck — and therefore a high-value layer — in the AI stack.
MobiHealthNewsAnthropic's IPO Valuation Strategy Anchors to $190–200 Billion in Projected 2028 Revenue
Reuters reports that Wall Street is valuing Anthropic's forthcoming IPO based on 2028 revenue projections of $190–200 billion — an unusually long forward horizon that reflects both the speed of Anthropic's growth and the difficulty of pricing a company still in heavy infrastructure build-out. This figure dwarfs the $47 billion annualized run rate Anthropic cited as recently as May 2026. Reference points being used include Cloudflare, Palantir, and SpaceX, with an analyst day expected ahead of the offering.
ReutersGoldman Sachs Spearheads $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Financing Consortium Alongside $20 Billion Intel Offering
Goldman Sachs is coordinating a consortium of six financial institutions to raise $500 billion in financing specifically for AI infrastructure buildout, announced alongside Nvidia this week. Simultaneously, Goldman acted as joint book-running manager for Intel's $20 billion stock offering — upsized from $15 billion — with proceeds funding expansion of Intel's foundry operations as TSMC remains capacity-constrained. The back-to-back deals position Goldman as the central financial institution of the AI infrastructure boom.
CNBCAnthropic Eyes $2 Trillion October IPO That Would Eclipse SpaceX as Largest in History
Multiple investors now expect Anthropic to go public in October at a valuation exceeding $2 trillion — more than double its current level and potentially surpassing SpaceX to become the largest IPO in history. Shares are already trading on secondary markets at valuations as high as $1.5 trillion, with far more buyers than sellers as the IPO approaches. The path is not without risk: export controls on Anthropic's flagship models slowed revenue growth in June, and public market sentiment toward AI valuations has grown more cautious.
Business InsiderRobinhood Ventures Fund II Raises $225 Million to Give Retail Investors Access to Early-Stage AI Startups
Robinhood launched its second venture fund (RVII) on the NYSE, raising $225.5 million to invest in early- and growth-stage private companies, with a focus on Y Combinator alumni. The move expands retail investor access to private markets that have traditionally been locked behind venture capital and wealth thresholds, as startups including many AI companies stay private longer. The fund follows Robinhood's first vehicle launched in March, which focused on late-stage startups.
ReutersAI Takes 87.5% of All U.S. Venture Capital in Q2 2026, the Most Skewed Split PitchBook Has Ever Recorded
PitchBook's Q2 2026 U.S. VC data shows AI captured 87.5 cents of every venture dollar invested in the quarter, the most extreme AI-versus-non-AI concentration the firm has ever recorded. Non-AI startups competed for just 12.5% of available capital, with a single week in August seeing Lovable raise $400 million and River AI raise $1.1 billion. CodeRabbit also closed $143 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, while Cognition AI is reportedly in talks at a $40 billion valuation.
Yellow.comLegal AI Startup Legora Seeks Funding at Over $10 Billion Valuation
Legal AI startup Legora is in fundraising discussions targeting a valuation exceeding $10 billion, according to the Financial Times. The raise reflects sustained investor appetite for vertical AI applications in professional services, particularly legal, where AI tools are automating research, document review, and contract analysis. Legora joins a growing cohort of legal AI platforms attracting unicorn-plus valuations as law firms accelerate AI adoption.
Financial TimesAnthropic in Early Talks to Acquire Israeli AI Startup Decart for $6 Billion Ahead of IPO
Anthropic is in early-stage discussions to acquire Israeli AI startup Decart in a deal that could value the company at $6 billion, up significantly from its $4 billion valuation during a May funding round led by Radical Ventures and Nvidia. If completed, Decart's team would join Anthropic's inference and performance division — a strategically critical area as Anthropic races to reduce costs and improve model serving ahead of its planned IPO. Talks are preliminary and may not result in a deal.
Jerusalem PostCodeRabbit Raises $143 Million at $1.5 Billion Valuation, Cementing AI Code Review as a Standalone Category
AI code review startup CodeRabbit has closed a $143 million funding round co-led by Atomico and Smash Capital, valuing the company at $1.5 billion less than a year after its $60 million Series B. New investors include BMW i Ventures and Datadog, reflecting broad enterprise interest in automated code quality tools. CodeRabbit's rapid valuation growth underscores investor conviction that AI-powered developer tooling is a durable, high-margin category.
ReutersIsraeli VC Team8 Raises $365 Million to Back AI-Native Enterprise Startups
Israeli venture group Team8 has closed $365 million in new capital — $265 million for its third fund and over $100 million for follow-on investments — bringing total assets under management to nearly $2 billion. The firm is focused on AI-native enterprise companies and has previously backed quantum computing, financial infrastructure, and agentic AI development platforms. The raise reflects continued strong institutional interest in enterprise AI infrastructure plays.
YnetnewsPitchBook Q2 2026 Unicorn Report: AI Represents 61.7% of Unicorn Universe Value as Concentration Risk Grows
PitchBook's Q2 2026 Global Unicorn Tracker reveals that AI now accounts for 61.7% of the total unicorn universe's value despite representing only 40.3% of company count, while the five largest financings accounted for 60% of all deal value. Notably, 47.6% of unicorns have not raised any funds in over two years, and PitchBook's own quality framework ranks AI model builders last among unicorn categories. SpaceX's listing alone accounted for 94.9% of Q2 exit value, masking a thin broader exit market.
PitchBookRiver AI Raises $1.1 Billion Seed Round at Two Months Old, Backed by General Catalyst and Nvidia
River AI, founded by xAI co-founder Igor Babuschkin, has secured $1.1 billion in a seed/Series A round led by General Catalyst and AMP PBC, with Nvidia, AMD Ventures, Y Combinator, and Temasek also participating — making it one of the largest seed rounds in history for a two-month-old company. The startup's thesis centers on building personally trainable AI assistants rather than pursuing the human-worker-replacement trajectory of other AI labs, requiring a full rebuild of the stack including training, models, product layer, and new hardware. The raise reflects continued investor appetite for bets on alternative AI architectures and personal AI.
TechCrunchLovable Doubles Valuation to $13.3 Billion After $400 Million Raise, Cementing Vibe-Coding Boom
AI software-building startup Lovable has raised $400 million at a $13.3 billion valuation, more than doubling its $6.6 billion valuation from just eight months ago in December 2025. The rapid appreciation reflects surging investor confidence in 'vibe coding' platforms that let non-developers build software using natural language. Lovable competes in a crowded but fast-growing market alongside tools like Cursor and Replit.
Business InsiderFormer OpenAI CPO Kevin Weil Seeks $750M Valuation for New AI Science Startup
Kevin Weil, former chief product officer at OpenAI, has been fundraising for a new AI science startup at a valuation of at least $750 million, focused on gathering scientific data to train AI models. His departure follows a broader exodus of senior AI executives into science-focused ventures, including Jeff Dean's recent announcement of Discovery Loop. The trend signals that AI's next major frontier is shifting from consumer chatbots toward scientific research and discovery applications.
Business InsiderAnthropic Courts Investors Ahead of Fall IPO That Could Eclipse SpaceX's Debut
Anthropic, currently valued at $965 billion, is actively meeting with potential investors to address concerns ahead of a planned IPO expected in September or early October 2026, which analysts say could surpass SpaceX's record-setting listing. The company's public debut is being closely watched as a valuation benchmark that will influence how markets price other major AI companies. Investors remain cautious given questions about AI industry profitability, circular financing dynamics, and the pressure on frontier labs to sustain massive capital expenditure.
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