Bloomberg: The AI investment boom intensifies the differentiation in the venture capital market, with small and medium-sized funds facing survival challenges

According to Bloomberg, the current venture capital market is experiencing significant structural differentiation. As funds concentrate on top artificial intelligence startups, many small and medium-sized venture capital funds are facing severe challenges such as fundraising difficulties, declining performance, and narrowing exit channels.

The report points out that the excessive hype around artificial intelligence has distorted the venture capital market. Data shows that just five companies—OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Waymo, and Nscale—accounted for 78% of all venture capital transaction volume in the first quarter of this year. A large amount of capital has flowed to a few top investors who made early bets on AI, such as Founders Fund and Andreessen Horowitz, while small emerging fund managers find it difficult to compete with these leading institutions.

This differentiation is directly reflected in fundraising data. Last year, newly established management companies (managing three or fewer funds) raised only about $62 billion, a significant drop of about 60% compared to the pandemic peak of $163.4 billion in 2022. Even experienced management teams raised only $84 billion last year, which is just one-third of the amount in 2022. Many LPs are facing liquidity pressures and are more inclined to demand returns on existing investments rather than commit new funds.