AI Sector Q1 Funding Reaches $242B, but Concentrated in Mega-Rounds Led by OpenAI's $122B

Gate News message, April 22 — Artificial intelligence companies raised approximately $242 billion in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for roughly 80% of global venture capital investment, according to crypto analyst Ai. However, funding remained highly concentrated in a handful of mega-rounds, with OpenAI securing $122 billion, Anthropic raising $30 billion, xAI completing $20 billion, and Waymo securing $16 billion.

Enterprise-level AI spending continued to rise during the period. Gartner forecasts that global AI spending will reach $2.52 trillion in 2026, representing 44% year-over-year growth. Capital is rapidly shifting from application layers toward infrastructure and computing power development.