OpenAI, Anthropic Propel California Venture Funding to Record

The capital demands of generative artificial intelligence, from model training and data centers to specialized talent, are pulling an outsized share of venture funding toward Silicon Valley. Megarounds for frontier-model developers such as OpenAI and Anthropic now dwarf conventional startup financings, reinforcing California’s position as the center of the global AI investment boom while raising concerns about capital concentration.

PitchBook data showed that more than 4,000 California-based startups had raised about $366 billion in 2026 through August, a record total and more than three times the amount secured by companies across the other 49 US states combined. OpenAI and Anthropic accounted for roughly half of California’s haul, or about $183 billion, underscoring how two AI companies have reshaped the state’s venture market.