AI AND EARLY STAGE LEADS INVESTMENT IN Q1

Global venture funding hit $66 billion in the first quarter — a 6% QoQ spike but a 20% YoY decrease, according to Crunchbase. According to Chrunchbase, major investments included:

Beijing-based Moonshot AI, a large language model company that raised $1 billion led by Alibaba Group;

Humanoid robot company Figure, based in Sunnyvale, California, raised $675 million and partnered with OpenAI;

Shanghai-based MiniMax, creator of AI companions and avatars, raised $600 million in another round led by Alibaba.

Important to know. Early-stage funding rose to $29.5 billion, up 6% YoY, with significant investments in AI, electric vehicles, and green energy. This trend shows a shift towards investing earlier in the cycle amidst tighter funding environments.