investment

Global venture funding surged to $300 billion in Q1 2026, with AI startups grabbing $242 billion. The US accounted for over 80% of total AI investment, led by OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI.

Micron Technology stock rallies 124% in six months as AI memory chip demand surges. The semiconductor company benefits from HBM technology demand and data center expansion. AI use case introduces more stable demand pattern.

Meta commits additional $21B with CoreWeave for AI compute infrastructure. Part of ongoing race for AI infrastructure among major technology companies. The partnership provides GPU computing resources for AI model training and deployment.

Family offices increasingly invest directly in AI startups, bypassing traditional VC middlemen. BNY Wealth: 83% of family offices consider AI a top strategic priority over next 5 years. More than half have AI exposure through investments.

AI fundings doubled VC deal value to $267.2B in Q1 2026. OpenAI led the surge with $122B funding round. Sullivan & Cromwell secured $1T in AI-related deals. Record quarter reflects institutional belief AI will transform multiple sectors.

OpenAI shares have fallen out of favor on secondary markets —in some cases 'almost impossible to unload.' Anthropic seeing record demand with valuations reaching ~$600 billion on secondary markets. Despite OpenAI's $122B funding round, investors pivot rapidly to Anthropic as stronger financial bet.

Global startup funding hit record $297 billion in Q1 2026, with AI deals dominating 80% of total deal value. OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI raised over $130 billion combined. First quarter exceeds full-year 2024 total as AI infrastructure arms race accelerates.

Kandou AI has raised $225 million in Series A funding led by SoftBank and Synopsys to tackle AI's memory wall problem with chip-to-chip interconnect technology, betting that copper interconnects can outlast the optical revolution.

Microsoft is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 as investor concerns about artificial intelligence disruption weigh heavily on the technology giant's stock, with AI startups like Anthropic and OpenAI threatening to replace Microsoft's software products.

OpenAI has flagged its dependence on Microsoft as a significant risk factor in investor documentation ahead of a potential IPO, highlighting the operational and competitive complexities of one of technology's most consequential partnerships.