The AI hype cycle is entering its “show me the money” phase, with Indian startups increasingly bringing revenue and global demand to the table—and investors bringing bigger cheques
The money moves: AI is no longer just getting attention from investors; it is taking a bigger bite of the funding pie.
- AI startups have raised $1.56 billion across 206 deals through August 20, already close to the $1.71 billion raised in all of 2025, as per Venture Intelligence data.
- AI is taking a bigger bite of the VC pie: its share of deal value has risen to 23% from 15% last year, while its share of deal volume has climbed to 32.4% from 24.7%.
That bigger appetite is showing up in bigger rounds. We were first to report Sarvam AI and Emergent’s $200-250 million funding talks; both have since raised sizeable rounds, while others like Neysa have also closed large fundraises.
- The pipeline is getting bigger too: Ema, mstack AI, Simplismart and UnifyApps are now seeking $50-80 million, as we reported earlier.
Pilots meet P&L: The pitch is changing too: investors now want proof that AI can make money, not just make an impression.