North American startups secured a record-breaking $252.6 billion in funding during the first quarter of 2026, according to data from Crunchbase. This figure represents more than triple the amount raised in the previous quarter and shatters the previous record of $95.7 billion set in the third quarter of 2021.
Artificial intelligence companies accounted for more than 87% of this investment, totaling $221 billion. This surge was dominated by a handful of massive financing rounds for high-profile firms, including Anthropic, xAI, Waymo, and specifically OpenAI. OpenAI alone secured a $110 billion financing round in February led by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, followed by an additional $12 billion raise in March.
As capital floods the sector, OpenAI has shifted its focus toward the societal implications of its technology. On April 6, the company released a document titled “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,” which outlines a slate of “people-first policy ideas.” OpenAI stated that these proposals are designed to “expand opportunity, share prosperity, and build resilient institutions—ensuring that advanced AI benefits everyone.”
Policy outreach and research initiatives
OpenAI clarified that the document is not a final set of recommendations but rather a starting point to encourage public discourse. The company is actively seeking feedback via a dedicated email address and plans to host discussions at a new workshop opening in May in Washington, D.C.
To support the development of these policies, the company is launching a pilot program offering research grants of up to $1 million in API credits and fellowships of up to $100,000. These incentives are specifically targeted at work that builds upon or challenges the ideas presented in their new policy framework.
Crunchbase reported that the vast majority of the quarter’s funding, approximately $222.4 billion, was concentrated in later-stage and technology-growth rounds. While the total dollar amount rose sharply, the actual count of financing rounds decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter, indicating that the record-breaking total was driven by fewer, yet significantly larger, individual deals.
