Startup and Venture Capital News as of 1st January 2026: Record Rounds in AI, Activity of Venture Funds, Key Deals, and Global Investment Trends for Venture Investors.
Global Records in AI Startup Funding
The year 2025 has set a record for funding AI startups: industry analysts estimate that leading American companies in the artificial intelligence sector attracted approximately $150 billion in venture capital — significantly higher than the previous record of $92 billion established in 2021. This growth is attributed to the burgeoning interest from investors in AI solutions. Experts recommend that startups build financial 'safety nets' to prepare for potential downturns in activity in the new year.
- SoftBank has raised its total investment in OpenAI to $41 billion, contributing the remaining $22.5 billion at the year’s end. The Japanese corporation now holds about 11% of the shares in the American startup.
- Anthropic — one of the leaders in AI model development — raised $13 billion in September 2025.
- Scale AI, a data preparation startup for training neural networks, received over $14 billion in investments from Meta: this funding includes not only financial support but also the transition of some skilled specialists to the project.
- Other promising AI projects (Anysphere with its Cursor application, Perplexity, Thinking Machines Lab, etc.) have also repeatedly attracted capital. For instance, Anysphere increased its valuation from $2.6 billion to $27 billion, while its revenue grew twentyfold over the year.
Such deals reflect a trend: amid the ongoing excitement surrounding AI solutions, startups are keen to accumulate maximum resources on their balance sheets, supported by the strategies of the largest venture players.
Major Venture Deals
The closing weeks of 2025 brought several significant transactions in the global venture market, further solidifying the dominant role of AI and related technologies.
- SoftBank has completed its promised investment in OpenAI: an additional $22.5 billion has been officially allocated, bringing the total investment to $41 billion.
- Nvidia is investing $2 billion in Elon Musk's startup xAI. The funds will be used to procure graphics chips for the Colossus 2 data centre (Tennessee); xAI aims to attract approximately $20 billion in funding.
- Nvidia has entered a strategic agreement with AI chip startup Groq worth $20 billion: the company has obtained licenses for all Groq technologies (excluding the GroqCloud platform) and key assets, while the founder of Groq and part of the team will move to Nvidia.
- Other major investors, including Apollo Global Management and Diameter Capital funds, are also participating in the funding of xAI.
- The Mexican fintech startup Plata (founded by former Tinkoff managers) secured $250 million in investments, raising its valuation to $3.1 billion. The project issues cashback credit cards and already serves over 2 million customers.
These transactions underscore that the largest capitals continue to concentrate around leaders in the technology sector, particularly in companies associated with artificial intelligence.
New Funds and Government Support
Government bodies and leading funds have announced extensive initiatives to support technology startups:
- China has launched a national venture fund (¥100 billion, approximately $14.3 billion) along with three major regional funds (each exceeding ¥50 billion). These funds are focused on supporting domestic technology startups, primarily those with a market capitalisation of up to ¥500 million.
- Additionally, three specialised funds of $7.14 billion each have been established in China for investments in 'hardware' technologies: ranging from chips and quantum computing to biotechnology and aerospace developments.
- Nikolai and Marina Davydov have launched a new $75 million fund for early-stage AI startups (Davidovs Venture Collective): $40 million has already been raised from private sources.
- The Russian company Yandex has announced a support programme for small and medium-sized enterprises amounting to 500 million roubles: it offers triple increases in advertising budgets on its platforms (Yandex.Direct and others) and preferential terms for startups and SMEs.
These initiatives indicate that major investors and governments are actively influencing the development of the technological ecosystem by directing capital to priority areas.
Breakthrough Startups and Unicorns
Amid the influx of capital, several new projects have made significant strides:
- The recruitment platform Mercor (founded by Brendan Foody and others) has become a 'unicorn' with a valuation in the tens of billions of dollars: its creators have joined the ranks of new billionaires.
- The Chinese company DeepSeek (an AI-powered search engine, founded by Liang Wenfeng) has also risen to prominence as a notable 'unicorn' with a valuation of approximately $11.5 billion.
- Fintech and SaaS remain leaders. Revolut (Nikolai Storonsky) is expanding its business through acquisitions (in autumn 2025, it acquired the startup Swifty), and the previously mentioned Plata has become a significant new player in credit services.
- Overall, numerous major technology startups, particularly those linked to AI and automation, are attaining 'unicorn' status and setting the market tone.
This confirms that the greatest potential for substantial growth today is perceived in IT startups, especially in the fintech, SaaS, and artificial intelligence sectors. These are the sectors generating new successful cases and creating substantial wealth for their founders.
Venture Market Trends
- According to Forbes, investments in AI startups in 2025 exceeded $202 billion (an increase of approximately 75% compared to 2024), outpacing all other sectors.
- AI breakthroughs have spawned around 50 new billionaires in 2025. Elon Musk's capital has nearly increased by 1.5 times — to $645 billion, and Jensen Huang's (Nvidia) wealth has risen to $159 billion; the founders of Google and Amazon have also significantly increased their fortunes.
- Venture capitalists point to a record concentration of wealth: the bulk of funds has been directed into a few large projects, while many 'secondary' startups are finding funds practically depleted.
- Analysts advise startups to build a 'fortified' balance sheet: that is, to accumulate reserves and focus on long-term development, taking potential market corrections into account.
- The Russian startup market is moving in the opposite direction: according to 'Kommersant', the number of deals has decreased by 30%, and the volume of investments has fallen by 10% (to approximately 7.2 billion roubles).
In summary, these factors indicate a division in the market: global capital is concentrating in 'hot' sectors (AI and digital services), while activity in traditional industries remains low.
Prospects for 2026
The beginning of 2026 opens a new chapter: experts note that market growth may slow down, thus investors and startup founders should adopt a stance of 'cautious optimism' and choose projects with sustainable business models.
New Year Greetings from Open Oil Market
The company Open Oil Market congratulates all readers on the arrival of the New Year 2026! May it bring new successful startup ideas, large-scale investment projects, and steady growth for innovative companies.
