A year-long surge in artificial intelligence investment has propelled 10 loss-making startups to a combined valuation nearing $1 trillion, according to a media report.
The rapid rise, fuelled by investor enthusiasm and a rush to dominate the next wave of computing, is prompting growing concerns that the private AI market is overheating — potentially sowing the seeds for a bubble that could ripple through the wider economy.
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Startups such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Elon Musk's xAI have seen their valuations repeatedly marked up over the past year as venture capitalists race to back firms developing foundation models and cutting-edge AI systems, the Financial Times reported, citing data from PitchBook. The boom has also lifted smaller players focused on AI applications, while established firms like Databricks have seen their worth soar after pivoting aggressively toward AI technologies.
The report added that the US venture capitalists have invested about $161 billion in AI this year — roughly two-thirds of their total outlay. Most of this capital has flowed into 10 companies: OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Perplexity, Anysphere, Scale AI, Safe Superintelligence, Thinking Machines Lab, Figure AI and Databricks. Together, they now command valuations approaching the trillion-dollar mark despite collectively recording significant losses.
Currently, OpenAI is valued at $500 billion even as the company is projected to generate $13 billion in revenue for 2025. In addition, Nvidia has pledged to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI to support the startup's chip leasing and supercomputing expansion.
xAI also has a high valuation of $200 billion. Perplexity has a valuation of $20 billion, while Anysphere has a valuation of $9.9 billion.
Even early-stage startups are commanding eye-popping valuations, with Thinking Machines Lab reaching $12 billion on a $2 billion seed round, according to CNBC.
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