January 22, 2026

AI of the tiger

Hi there,

Our State of AI 2025 report is out now. Get it here.

We dive in below with this week's Hot or Not.

Hot: LLM funding

LLM developers captured 41% of total AI funding in 2025.

The top-funded model developers last year include: 

• OpenAI ($41B)
• Anthropic ($32.5B)
• xAI ($12.8B)

Even as these cos burn through cash to meet hardware, talent, and energy needs, investors remain confident in their growth.

In fact, xAI already raised a $20B Series E ($7.5B in equity) this year, and Anthropic announced it will raise another $10B in the same week.

See where the frontier model race is headed in our State of AI 2025 report.

Not: AI deal activity

While AI funding reached a record $83.2B last quarter, deal activity fell to below 2024’s quarterly levels.

These trends highlight how top-heavy the AI landscape has become.

Investors are funneling capital into fewer, larger bets: mega-rounds ($100M+ deals) accounted for 79% of funding in the year.

Learn more about AI’s deal activity last year in our latest report.

Hot: Robotics

Robotics hardware & software companies captured the largest share (11.4%) of AI deals in 2025.

AI advances are enabling robots to perform increasingly complex tasks across diverse environments, from manufacturing floors to the battlefield. 

Top rounds in 2025 went to companies across:

• Defense applications (Helsing, Anduril, Saronic)
• Humanoid robotics & models (Figure, Physical Intelligence, Skild)
• Autonomous driving (Applied Intuition, Neolix)

Get the data in our State of AI 2025 report.

Not: Unprepared AI startups

AI companies are reaching unicorn status while already operating at commercial scale, based on CB Insights Commercial Maturity scores. 

That marks a shift from 2024, when the majority of new AI unicorns were still in the validating/deploying stages. 

This indicates a maturing AI market, with companies moving from more experimental technology to proven business models with real revenue and customers. 

Get the full breakdown of AI unicorns in our report.

The +1

Word to the wise. How does one even measure this?

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal 

Co-Founder & Exec Chair

P.S. Want to get a full breakdown of 2025’s venture landscape? Download our State of Venture report here.

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