The AI Startup Funding Boom Is Not A Global Phenomenon

openai — the flood of AI-focused funding has pushed global startup investment to record levels this year. But the vast majority of countries have not partaken in the gains.

So far in 2026, U.S. companies have pulled in nearly 80% of global seed- through growth-stage financing, per Crunchbase data. That’s a sharp divergence from the years leading up to the AI boom, when American companies typically secured less than half of all investment. Gap for AI is even more pronounced The U.S. share of artificial intelligence-related investment is even greater. So far this year, nearly 88% of AI-related startup funding, or $319 billion, went to U.S.-headquartered companies, per Crunchbase data. Of that, most went to just two recipients, OpenAI and Anthropic. Since both Anthropic and OpenAI are on track for public market debuts later this year, it’s possible next year’s comps will be less lopsided, as they won’t be raising any more giant late-stage financings. We’ll see. Large venture hubs outperform small and mid-sized ones Although no other country comes close to the U.S. for startup funding, a few of the larger technology investment hubs are seeing year-over-year gains. Funding to China’s startups, in particular, is on the rise after several sluggish years. So far in 2026, startups have raised over $33 billion, per Crunchbase data, already surpassing the total for all of 2025. The United Kingdom is also looking up. U.K.-based startups have pulled in $16.5 billion so far this year, compared to $19.5 billion in all of 2025.