Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.09-212008/https://www.ft.com/content/321cd530-477d-45b5-80f6-16404b7201fb

US start-ups are raising more cash than at any point since 2021 thanks to investor bullishness about artificial intelligence, but the venture capital market has tilted sharply towards funding a handful of huge private tech companies.

More than $30bn has been invested into fledgling groups already this quarter, according to PitchBook data. A further $50bn of fundraising is also in train, as venture capitalists work on a series of major deals involving OpenAI, Safe Superintelligence and defence tech start-up Anduril.

The fervour over AI has led investors to spend at their fastest rate since the market’s peak in 2021, a period in which $358bn flooded into tech groups, saddling many with unrealistic valuations.