Overview

• Investors have poured billions into AI startups since 2023, producing 498 unicorns valued at a combined $2.7 trillion, including 100 firms founded after 2023.
• Blockbuster funding rounds at companies like Thinking Machines Lab and Anthropic have created dozens of new billionaires this year.
• Secondary share sales, structured tenders and some mergers or IPOs have generated about 73 liquidity events but cover only a fraction of overall paper gains.
• Rising stock prices at Nvidia, Meta and Microsoft have added to AI wealth by boosting valuations across the public market.
• OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT-5 has drawn polarized feedback and 68% of Americans now report unease about AI, especially over potential job losses.