Startup and Venture Investment News as of January 1, 2026: Record Rounds in AI, Venture Fund Activity, Key Deals, and Global Investment Trends for Venture Investors
Record Global Funding for AI Startups
The year 2025 was a record-breaking year for funding AI startups: industry analysts estimate that leading American companies in the field of artificial intelligence attracted approximately $150 billion in venture capital—significantly surpassing the previous record of $92 billion set in 2021. This growth is attributed to the intense interest investors have in AI solutions. Experts recommend startups to build financial "safety cushions" in anticipation of a potential slowdown in activity in the new year.
- SoftBank has increased its total investment in OpenAI to $41 billion by injecting the remaining $22.5 billion at the end of the year. The Japanese corporation now holds about 11% of the American startup’s shares.
- Anthropic, a leader in developing AI models, raised $13 billion in September 2025.
- Scale AI, a startup focused on preparing data for training neural networks, received over $14 billion in investments from Meta: this investment includes not only funding but also the transition of some qualified specialists to the project.
- Other promising AI projects (such as Anysphere with its Cursor app, Perplexity, Thinking Machines Lab, etc.) have also repeatedly attracted capital. For instance, Anysphere increased its valuation from $2.6 billion to $27 billion, with its revenue growing 20-fold over the year.
Such transactions reflect a trend: during the ongoing excitement surrounding AI solutions, startups aim to accumulate as many resources as possible on their balance sheets, supported by the strategies of major venture players.
Major Venture Deals
The last weeks of 2025 brought several of the largest transactions on the global venture market, reinforcing the leading role of AI and related technologies even further.
- SoftBank completed its promised investment in OpenAI, officially sending another $22.5 billion, bringing the total investment to $41 billion.
- Nvidia has invested $2 billion in Elon Musk's startup xAI. The funds will be used to purchase graphics chips for the Colossus 2 data center (Tennessee); xAI aims to attract approximately $20 billion in funding.
- Nvidia has entered into a strategic agreement with the startup Groq (AI chips) valued at $20 billion: the company has obtained licenses for all Groq technologies (except for the GroqCloud platform) and key assets, while Groq's founder and part of the team will transition to Nvidia.
- Funding for xAI is also coming from other major investors, including Apollo Global Management and Diameter Capital funds.
- The Mexican fintech startup Plata (founded by former Tinkoff managers) raised $250 million in investments, increasing its valuation to $3.1 billion. The project issues cashback credit cards and already serves over 2 million customers.
These deals underscore the point that the largest capital is still concentrated among the leaders of the technology sector, particularly companies connected to artificial intelligence.
New Funds and Government Support
Government institutions and leading funds have announced large-scale initiatives to support technological startups:
- China has launched a national venture fund (¥100 billion, approximately $14.3 billion) and three major regional funds (each exceeding ¥50 billion). These funds are aimed at supporting domestic technological startups, primarily those with valuations up to ¥500 million.
- Additionally, China has established three specialized funds of $7.14 billion each for investments in "hardware" technologies, covering everything from chips and quantum computing to biotechnology and aerospace developments.
- Nikolai and Marina Davydov have launched a new fund worth $75 million for early-stage AI startups (Davidovs Venture Collective): $40 million has already been raised from private sources.
- The Russian company Yandex announced a support program for small and medium-sized enterprises worth 500 million rubles: it offers a triple increase in advertising budgets on its services (Yandex.Direct, etc.) and favorable conditions for startups and SMEs.
These initiatives indicate that major investors and governments are actively impacting the development of the technological ecosystem by directing capital towards priority areas.
Breakthrough Startups and "Unicorns"
Amid the influx of capital, several new projects have made qualitative leaps:
- The recruiting platform Mercor (founded by Brendan Fudi and others) has transformed into a "unicorn" with a valuation in the tens of billions of dollars; its founders have entered the ranks of new billionaires.
- The Chinese company DeepSeek (an AI search engine, founded by Liang Wenfeng) has also become one of the noticeable "unicorns" with an approximate valuation of $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), while the mentioned Plata has become a significant new player in credit services.
- Overall, many of the largest technology startups, particularly those associated with AI and automation, are achieving "unicorn" status and setting the tone for the market.
This confirms that the greatest potential for large-scale growth today is seen in IT startups, particularly in the fintech, SaaS, and artificial intelligence sectors. They are generating new successful cases and creating substantial fortunes for their founders.
Trends in the Venture Market
- According to Forbes, investments in AI startups in 2025 exceeded $202 billion (a ~75% increase compared to 2024), outpacing all other sectors.
- AI breakthroughs have created approximately 50 new billionaires in 2025. Elon Musk's capital increased by almost 1.5 times—to $645 billion, while Jensen Huang's (Nvidia) wealth rose to $159 billion; the founders of Google and Amazon also significantly enriched themselves.
- Venture investors point to record capital concentration: the majority of funds were directed towards several large projects, while many “secondary” startups are nearly out of money.
- Analysts recommend that startups build a "fortress" balance: that is, accumulate reserves and focus on long-term development, considering potential market corrections.
- The Russian startup market is heading in the opposite direction: according to Kommersant, the number of deals has decreased by 30%, and investment volume has fallen by 10% (down to ~7.2 billion rubles).
Collectively, these factors indicate a market split: global capital is concentrating in "hot" sectors (AI and digital services), while activity in traditional industries remains low.
Outlook for 2026
The beginning of 2026 opens a new chapter: experts note that market growth may slow down, so both investors and startup founders should adopt "cautious optimism" and select projects with sustainable business models.
Congratulations 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.
