Startup funding shatters all records in Q1

Wed, Apr 1 · 12:00 AM UTC 2 min read

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Global investing in startups hit $297 billion in Q1 2026, breaking all records, according to new Crunchbase data.

Key facts

Last month, OpenAI announced that it is now valued at $852 billion after collecting $122 billion, surpassing the previous record for the largest funding round ever, also held by OpenAI
The quarter also saw Anthropic, its main rival, raise $30 billion at a valuation of $380 billion
The other two mega-deals of the quarter included a $20 billion fundraise by xAI and Waymo’s $16 billion round
Global investing in startups hit $297 billion in Q1 2026, breaking all records, according to new Crunchbase data

Summary

The unprecedented spike was fueled by four behemoth deals, each a record-breaker in its own right. Last month, OpenAI announced that it is now valued at $852 billion after collecting $122 billion, surpassing the previous record for the largest funding round ever, also held by OpenAI when the ChatGPT maker raised $40 billion a year ago. The quarter also saw Anthropic, its main rival, raise $30 billion at a valuation of $380 billion. These four rounds collectively raised $188 billion, accounting for more than 63% of total funding in the quarter.