Global venture-capital funding has surged in 2025, with a large share going into artificial-intelligence-driven startups. Late-stage AI companies are claiming a growing share of capital even as many early-stage rounds remain underserved. The phenomenon reflects investor focus on scaling platform-businesses and infrastructure across software, compute and data. While some analysts warn of valuation excess, others say the underlying shift may be structural and long-lasting given enterprise digitisation and cloud-AI expansion.