AI Funding Surged, Then Narrowed Around Scale and Traction

AI dominated startup and venture activity as funding spread across models, infrastructure, tooling, and applications before concentrating around the largest platforms. Investors still backed infrastructure and software with evidence of deployment, revenue, or strategic importance, but they became more selective about weaker AI bets.

The month also pushed leading AI companies closer to public-market liquidity, with OpenAI completing a major tender offer and Anthropic building toward a possible IPO. Outside AI, private valuations split between high-growth winners and companies facing market resets, while defense technology gained strategic venture backing.