Bubble fears fail to deter the ultra-wealthy as AI ventures attract record capital
(NEW YORK)–Despite persistent whispers of an artificial intelligence bubble, the investment arms of the world’s wealthiest families are doubling down.
AI-related startups raised $171 billion in February alone, pushing total global startup funding to a record $189 billion for the month, according to Crunchbase data.
The activity spans sectors. Jefferson River Capital backed Coral Care, a pediatric therapy provider. Emerson Collective placed its bet on World Labs, working in spatial intelligence. DNS Capital funded Seasats, focused on autonomous vessels, while Premji Invest joined Runway’s round in AI video generation.
Hillspire, the family office of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy, anchored a $150 million Series B for Goodfire, a startup decoding how AI models think in order to make them more transparent and reliable.
Tom Bustamante, Founder and CEO of Next Realm AI, sees a sustained runway ahead. “While valuations for the AI sector have pulled back in recent weeks, the long-term outlook remains bullish for AI, and especially the Agentic AI sector,” he said.
Bustamante acknowledged the inherent risk. “Investing in AI from a venture capital perspective has been especially risky due to AI’s rapid advancement making new startups obsolete sometimes in just a few months. Yet data shows venture funding continues to flow strongly, and I see that trend continuing well into 2027 regardless of any economic headwinds.”
For family offices, the calculus appears straightforward for the cost of missing the AI wave outweighs the risk of valuation and competition.
Next Realm AI
Contact
Sources: Crunchbase, Next Realm AI