Overview
- PitchBook data reported Thursday shows California has attracted about $366 billion in venture capital so far this year with OpenAI and Anthropic responsible for roughly half of that total.
- OpenAI completed a $122 billion financing in March and Anthropic raised about $95 billion across two rounds, deals that alone account for a very large share of the state’s inflows.
- More than 4,000 California startups have received funding this year and the state has taken in roughly 90% of U.S. venture capital, with New York a distant second at about $27 billion.
- The surge has raised personal income tax collections through stock-based pay and market gains, helped turn a projected deficit into a projected surplus, and pushed up San Francisco housing costs and rapid wealth creation.
- Political and market risks remain as billionaire-tax opponents mount a high-profile campaign, several major AI firms have filed confidential IPO papers, and analysts warn that heavy concentration on a few companies could crowd out other sectors.