North American startups raised a record-shattering $252.6 billion in the first quarter of 2026, according to Crunchbase data. This figure is more than triple the amount raised in the previous quarter and far exceeds the former record of $95.7 billion set in the third quarter of 2021.
Artificial intelligence firms captured over 87% of this investment, totaling $221 billion. The surge was driven by a series of mega-rounds for high-profile companies, including Anthropic, xAI, Waymo, and, most notably, OpenAI. OpenAI 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 pours into the sector, OpenAI has pivoted toward the societal implications of its technology. On April 6, the company published a document titled “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,” which outlines a series of “people-first policy ideas.” OpenAI stated that these proposals are intended to “expand opportunity, share prosperity, and build resilient institutions—ensuring that advanced AI benefits everyone.”
Policy outreach and research initiatives
OpenAI emphasized that the document is not a definitive set of recommendations, but rather a starting point to spark public debate. The company is actively soliciting feedback via a dedicated email address and plans to host discussions at a new workshop opening this 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, alongside fellowships of up to $100,000. These incentives are specifically aimed at research that builds upon or critiques the ideas presented in their new policy framework.
Crunchbase noted 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 volume rose sharply, the actual number 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.
