Crypto Venture Funding vs AI Investments

Crypto venture funding in the U.S. clocked in at approximately $861 million for the first three months of 2025, but was dwarfed by artificial intelligence’s nearly $20 billion haul, according to data provided by Pitchbook. This shows how investors continue to pivot towards AI.

Data shows that investors closed 795 deals in AI in the U.S. from January to March, with blockbuster deals like:
– Databricks’ $15.3 billion round
– Anthropic’s $2 billion raise dominating headlines.

In comparison, crypto’s largest blockbuster deal was Abu Dhabi’s MGX, with a $2 billion investment into Binance – the first institutional placement in the crypto exchange. Other notable crypto deals include:
– $82 million raise from payment infrastructure company Mesh
– ETF issuer Bitwise’s $70 million round
– Digital asset bank Sygnum’s $58 million offering.

Prior reporting by Pitchbook shows that AI startups attracted one-third of global VC investment in 2024, totaling $131.5 billion, with nearly a quarter of new startups being an AI company across 4,318 VC deals, compared to crypto’s $4.9 billion across just 706 deals.

Analysis: Has AI Stolen Crypto’s Venture Dollars?

Blockbuster rounds from VCs in the AI space and headline-grabbing antics, such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman seeking trillions, and AI’s rise from technological novelty to household name would make one think that there’s suddenly an investor preference for AI over crypto.

Historically, data shows that VCs have favored AI over crypto, with AI and machine learning attracting consistent funding that’s expanded exponentially. According to Statista, funding for AI grew from $670 million in 2011 to $36 billion in 2020. There has only been one year where crypto outpaced AI for funding.

Keep in mind that this ignores crypto-native quirks like airdrops, which put fresh capital in the hands of users, inflating token prices and projects’ treasuries. A recent report from Dragonfly found that between 2020 and 2024, the 11 largest airdrops generated $7 billion. This won’t close the gap between AI and crypto, but shows alternative ways to generate capital beyond traditional venture capital.