Artificial intelligence startups worldwide experienced another surge of funding in the second quarter of 2025, with global totals reaching $47.3 billion across 1,403 deals, according to industry investment reports. However, the boom remains unevenly distributed, with Africa securing just $14 million through five deals, equivalent to 0.02% of the global total. This places African AI startups at the bottom of the global funding landscape, far behind North America, Europe, and Asia.
The United States retained its position as the dominant hub for AI investment, raising $39.7 billion through 728 deals in Q2 2025, accounting for 83.9% of the global total. Europe followed with $4.4 billion raised across 307 deals, representing 9.3% of the global share, while Asia recorded $2.1 billion across 300 deals, equal to 4.4%. Canada secured $700 million in 33 deals, or 1.47% of global funding, while Oceania startups raised $300 million in 12 deals, or 0.6%. Latin America contributed $50 million through 17 deals, representing 0.1% of the global amount. In comparison, Africa’s $14 million stands out as the smallest regional share by a considerable margin.
Despite the imbalance, Q2 2025 was still the second-highest quarter ever recorded for AI funding, trailing only Q1 2025 when startups raised $68.9 billion. The 31.3% drop quarter-over-quarter reflects a cooling from the extraordinary start of the year, yet the sector continues to see record interest. A large part of Q2’s total was driven by Meta’s $14.8 billion minority stake in Scale, one of the largest AI funding deals on record. Investor appetite remains strong, with the overall deal count rising 2.5% from Q1 and median deal sizes climbing to $4.6 million in 2025 year-to-date, the highest in four years.
Cumulatively, 2025 has already become the most funded year ever for AI startups, with $116.1 billion invested in just the first half of the year. This represents a 10% increase from the $105.7 billion raised across all of 2024, nearly doubling the combined totals of 2023 and 2022. Alongside investment, acquisition activity has accelerated, with 177 startup exits recorded in Q2 alone, up sharply from 100 in the first quarter and 120 in Q4 2024. U.S. companies once again led this trend, with acquisitions of U.S.-based AI startups nearly doubling compared to the previous quarter.
Africa’s challenges stand in contrast to its broader technology investment landscape. In 2024, African fintechs raised $1.03 billion, with equity funding making up 58% of the total, indicating that investor interest in the continent is sector-specific and concentrated in areas like payments and banking rather than artificial intelligence. Analysts note that while global investors continue to pour money into AI, African startups remain on the margins of this trend. Still, local innovators are creating solutions tailored to regional challenges, and industry observers suggest that stronger visibility and proven success stories could eventually shift investor attention toward the continent’s AI sector.
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