US AI startups see funding surge while more VC funds struggle to raise, data shows

US startup funding surged 75.6% in the first half of 2025, thanks to the continued AI boom, putting it on track for its second-best year ever, even as venture capital firms struggled to raise money, a report from PitchBook on Tuesday showed.

Startup funding in the first six months of 2025 jumped to $162.8 billion, marking the strongest performance since the same period in 2021 – the historic peak for venture capital activity.

That previous surge came during the era of the Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP), when central banks slashed rates to stimulate…