AI already accounts for more than 60% of global investment in 'start-ups'

BarcelonaThe artificial intelligence has conquered the main global investment portfolios. This is identified by a report published by the consultancy PwC in collaboration with the technology congress South Summit, which states that AI tools concentrated more than 60% of the planet's venture capital in 2025. In just three years, according to the document, the ratio has more than doubled: in 2022, only 30% of the money mobilized for business initiatives ended up in AI. "AI is already positioning itself as the main driver of global venture capital fundraising," the authors observe.

The milestone that changes the pace of investment in AI, according to the report's authors, is the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, which popularized the use of generative artificial intelligence. In the decade before the market launch of the flagship product from the North American company OpenAI, the sector had progressively increased its investor appeal, from 13% in 2012 to 32% in 2021. In just a few months, however, portfolios for these products have opened wide, and they now attract two out of every three dollars of the more than 411 billion that global startups raised in 2025. The market, moreover, responds to the pace of investment: AI companies exceed the average valuation of tech companies by about 40%.

Spain, the fifth European market

In an environment of stable interest rates, venture capital funds from the main global markets accelerated their overall activity in 2025, and, specifically, those bets related to AI. According to the report, the global investment market surged by 26%.

The leadership, as is tradition, is held by North American investment vehicles —both from the USA and Canada—, with an aggregate capital close to 290 billion dollars, an increase of 42% compared to the previous year. Europe lags far behind, with 64 billion dollars invested, mostly from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Spanish funds have contributed about 3 billion euros to global investment.

Regarding investment in AI specifically, the Spanish state has established itself as the fifth European power, with around 1.6 billion euros dedicated to this area in 2025. Facing it is the British ecosystem, which leads the region with 18 billion euros, followed by Germany, with more than 8 billion invested in artificial intelligence. Completing the top 5 are Germany, with 8 billion, and Switzerland, slightly above Spain,