$300B in Q1 2026 VC. Four companies took 65% of it. Seed deal count dropped 30%.

Crunchbase's quarterly breakdown, where the record headline hides a tighter picture:
— $300B total, 70% of all 2025 funding in one quarter
— OpenAI + Anthropic + xAI + Waymo = $188B = 65% of global venture
— AI captured 80% of funding, up from 55% a year ago
— Seed: dollars +31%, deal count −30%

Not a rising tide, a flight to four addresses. The question shifted from "good time to raise?" to "is what I'm building still the kind of thing this market funds?"

https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/record-breaking-funding-ai-global-q1-2026/