HumanX and Crunchbase reveal unprecedented surge in AI investment; predictive intelligence forecasts major exits ahead for companies presenting at San Francisco summit
SAN FRANCISCO, CA. January 29, 2026. HumanX, the premier global summit for AI executives and innovators, in partnership with Crunchbase, today released the AI Funding Report 2025. The report reveals a historic surge in capital, with AI companies securing $211 billion in 2025 – nearly doubling the $114 billion raised in 2024. This massive influx now accounts for 50% of all global venture capital.
The findings highlight a “disciplined march to value,” where investors shift focus from pure experimentation to infrastructure and durable enterprise applications.
The report identifies the San Francisco Bay Area as the undisputed “global control center” for AI. The region accounted for 60% of global AI funding ($126 billion) last year. Within the Bay Area itself, 81% of all startup capital flowed directly into the AI sector.
Key data points from this year’s report include:
- The Rise of Megadeals: $163 billion, 77% of total AI funding – came from rounds of $100 million or more.
- Female Founder Momentum: In North America and Europe, 47% of AI funding ($84.7 billion) went to companies with at least one female founder.
- Foundation Model Dominance: Funding to foundation labs (like OpenAI and Anthropic) surged 180% to $87 billion.
- Beyond the Models: 59% of investment flowed into the supporting ecosystem, including infrastructure (19%), deep tech/robotics (11%), and AI-driven software for health and security (15%).
Predicting the Next Wave of Exits
Leveraging Crunchbase’s predictive intelligence, the report forecasts a meaningful shift in market momentum for 2026. Of the 138 private companies appearing at HumanX this year, 27 are positioned as “probable or very likely” to go public, while another 30 are positioned for acquisition.”Every AI cycle brings bubble predictions, but the data reveals a much more nuanced story,” said Stefan Weitz, co-founder and CEO of HumanX. “We see capital flowing to companies solving hard problems with durable value. HumanX is the living ecosystem where these founders and funders come together to stress-test ideas against real-world results. We aren’t just sharing insights on a page; we’re sparking the ‘collisions’ where data turns into action.”
“The AI winners of today are not necessarily the winners of tomorrow,” said Jager McConnell, CEO of Crunchbase. “Crunchbase’s predictive intelligence uses billions of live signals to forecast private market moves, and we foresee that significant AI IPOs are likely in 2026. The data shows that while investors are making more cautious bets, no longer throwing money at anything labelled AI, many of the companies attending HumanX have potential to raise significant rounds this year. We’re only in the first inning of the AI game, and HumanX will be a significant play for many companies.”
HumanX 2026: Where the Future Takes the Stage
The 130+ companies taking the stage at HumanX in San Francisco have collectively raised over $72 billion since 2018. Featured presenters include:
- Industry Leaders: Databricks (nearly $19B raised), Cerebras Systems, and CoreWeave.
- AI Innovators: Runway, Synthesia, Cohere, and Inflection AI.
- Market Movers: Figma, Chime, and Replit.
The full HumanX & Crunchbase AI Funding Report 2026 is available here.
About HumanX
HumanX is the global AI summit for executives and innovators building the future of enterprise AI. Created by the team behind Money20/20, Shoptalk, and HLTH, HumanX delivers unmatched access to the people and ideas shaping AI’s next decade – with an unwavering focus on impact over pay-to-play. Learn more at humanx.co.
About Crunchbase
Crunchbase is a predictive intelligence solution that forecasts private market movements using the unique combination of live private company data, AI, and market activity data from 80M+ users. It helps people operating in the private market – such as go-to-market (GTM) teams, investors, and wealth managers – move first and make more confident decisions. To learn more, visit crunchbase.com and follow Crunchbase on LinkedIn and X.
