Global venture capital (VC) investment in AI has surged to an unprecedented $110bn in 2024, marking a 62% year-on-year growth, according to Dealroom’s AI Summit 2025 report. This significant increase contrasts sharply with a 12% decline in VC investments across the broader technology sector during the same period. The surge highlights AI’s growing dominance within the global investment landscape, with the sector now accounting for one-third of total VC funding, more than double its share from just two years ago.
“Foundational models have absorbed the lion’s share of venture capital funding in 2024, but we believe investment in application layer businesses will skyrocket in 2025,” said Visionaries Club’s founding partner Robert Lacher, commenting on the survey. “If Europe’s leading AI clusters—London, Paris, Munich, and Zurich—are to produce global category winners, then ‘new economy’ founders must work with ‘old economy’ industrial businesses to solve real-world problems.”
US leads in AI investment, Europe closes the gap
The US maintained its dominance in AI VC investment, securing 74% of the global total in 2024. China ranked second, followed by the UK and France. Europe collectively raised $12.8bn, representing 12% of global AI venture capital. While the US maintains a significant lead, the gap between the US and Europe is narrowing.
In 2024, AI startups in the US accounted for 42% of all VC funding, significantly higher than the global average. In comparison, AI startups in Europe attracted 25% of VC funding, while the rest of the world recorded an 18% share.
GenAI has been a key driver of AI investment growth, with the US raising over 16 times more in funding than any other country for this technology. In Europe, the UK led GenAI investments, followed closely by France and Germany. Seven of the top nine global funding rounds in 2024 were secured by AI companies, underscoring the sector’s dominance. Notable funding rounds included $10bn for data and AI ventures in the Bay Area, $6.6bn for GenAI, and $5.6bn for autonomous vehicles. Other significant investments included $6bn and $4bn in GenAI rounds and $1.5bn for AI platforms in Abu Dhabi.
Looking ahead to 2025, strong investment momentum continues with several large funding rounds already recorded. These include $1bn for GenAI in the Bay Area, $527m for AI applications in mining, $275m for AI in healthcare, $250m for an AI audio platform in New York City, and $180m for an AI video platform in London. Additional funding rounds include $141m for GenAI models for healthcare, $260m for AI healthcare companies in Stockholm, and $200m for defence AI firms in San Diego.
The Dealroom’s AI Summit 2025 report revealed that Europe’s AI landscape is bolstered by its strong talent pool. The continent has a per-capita concentration of AI experts among software engineers that is 30% higher than in the US and nearly three times that of China. London leads Europe in the number of AI engineers, with nearly four times more than any other European city, followed by Paris, Berlin, Zurich, and Madrid. Dublin holds the highest density of AI engineers, followed closely by Zurich.
AI’s role in enhancing productivity is reflected in corporate strategies as companies increasingly adopt AI-driven solutions to streamline operations. “AI gives companies the ability to supercharge their knowledge workers by automating their repetitive tasks,” said Model ML co-founder and CEO Chaz Englander. “In future, this technology will help companies increase their output and quality while freeing up teams to take on more complex and satisfying tasks. It’s a huge economic opportunity and we’re excited for the potential for companies like ours to build on breakthrough foundational models to deliver impact.”
Read more: GenAI adoption surges in supply chains, but productivity gains prove to be mixed bag
