The startup world in 2025 was abuzz with massive funding rounds, and nowhere was this more evident than in the realm of artificial intelligence. According to Crunchbase data, a total of 15 companies secured venture funding rounds of $2 billion or more last year, amassing over $100 billion in the process. The majority of these companies were generative AI startups, which collectively raked in the most significant share of the cash.
## The Top 15 Largest Funding Rounds of 2025
It’s worth noting that the largest round of 2025 went to OpenAI, with its record-setting $40 billion SoftBank-backed financing in March. Four others raised rounds of more than $5 billion. With the year now in hindsight, it’s a great time to take a look at who secured the largest financings. Below are the top 15, in descending order.
1. OpenAI, $40B, artificial intelligence: On March 31, OpenAI announced that it secured a $40 billion investment led by SoftBank. The deal for the San Francisco-based company is the biggest venture investment ever. Per details of the deal, SoftBank will build a syndicate of co-investors to provide $10 billion of the total, while it expects to fund the other $30 billion, with $10 billion of that amount through debt.
2. Scale AI, $14.3B, generative AI: San Francisco-based Scale AI, a provider of training data and model evaluation for AI applications, raised a reported $14.3 billion from Meta in June at a valuation of $29 billion. Under the agreement, Scale’s founder, Alexandr Wang, and some other employees joined Meta to work on its AI efforts.
3. Anthropic, $13B, generative AI: San Francisco-based generative AI unicorn Anthropic raised a $13 billion Series F round at a $183 billion valuation in September. Iconiq Capital led the round, with Fidelity and Lightspeed Venture Partners co-leading.
4. Project Prometheus, $6.2B, artificial intelligence: Project Prometheus, a startup focused on applying AI technology to physical tasks, launched with $6.2 billion in initial funding, per a November report. Jeff Bezos will reportedly serve as co-CEO, alongside Vik Bajaj, a physicist and chemist who served as CEO and co-founder of biotech startup Foresite Labs and is also known for his work at Google’s X.
5. xAI, $5.3B, generative AI: Elon Musk’s generative AI startup xAI pulled in $5.3 billion in fresh equity funding this summer, per a securities filing. Since its inception just two-and-half years ago, the Palo Alto, California-based company has raised more than $22 billion in equity and debt financing, per Crunchbase data.
The rest of the top 15 funding rounds are as follows:
6. Databricks, $4B, data and AI: Databricks announced in December that it is raising over $4 billion in a Series L financing at a $134 billion valuation, led by Insight Partners, Fidelity and J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
7. Anthropic, $3.5B, generative AI: Anthropic raised a $3.5 billion funding round in March led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, valuing the San Francisco-based unicorn at $61.5 billion.
8. Anduril Industries, $2.5B, defense tech: Costa Mesa, California-based defense tech startup Anduril Industries has raised $2.5 billion in a June Series G round led by Founders Fund, more than doubling its valuation to $30.5 billion post-money.
9. Anysphere, $2.3B, AI coding: Coding automation platform Cursor and parent company Anysphere raised $2.3 billion in a November Series D financing backed by Accel, Thrive Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, Coatue, Nvidia and Google.
10. (tied) Polymarket, $2B, prediction market: Intercontinental Exchange, the operator of clearing houses and exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange, announced in October that it will invest up to $2 billion into the prediction market platform Polymarket.
10. (tied) Reflection AI, $2B, artificial intelligence: Reflection AI, a developer of LLM training models based on open standards, raised $2 billion in an October funding round backed by Nvidia and a long list of venture investors.
10. (tied) Safe Superintelligence, $2B, artificial intelligence: AI research lab Safe Superintelligence, the Palo Alto, California-based startup co-founded by OpenAI’s former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, reportedly raised a $2 billion April round at a $32 billion valuation led by Greenoaks Capital Partners.
10. (tied) Thinking Machines Lab, $2B, artificial intelligence: San Francisco-based Thinking Machines Lab, the artificial intelligence startup launched and led by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, reportedly secured a $2 billion seed round at a $10 billion valuation with Andreessen Horowitz as lead investor.
10. (tied) Binance, $2B, cryptocurrency: Malta-based cryptocurrency exchange Binance received a $2 billion investment in March from Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.
10. (tied) Mistral AI, $2B, generative AI: France-based frontier model company Mistral was valued at $13.2 billion in a $2 billion September funding led by Netherlands-based chipmaker ASML.
## The Future of AI Funding
As we look ahead to 2026 and beyond, it’s clear that AI funding will continue to play a major role in shaping the future of the industry. With the likes of OpenAI, Scale AI, and Anthropic leading the charge, we can expect to see even more record-breaking funding rounds in the years to come. Whether you’re an investor, a developer, or simply someone interested in the latest AI advancements, one thing is for sure: the future of AI is bright, and it’s only getting brighter from here.
