KCCI: "72% of AI Venture Capital Goes to the U.S., Only 1% to Korea"

Analysis of OECD AI Policy Repository Venture Investment Statistics

As global venture capital increasingly concentrates on artificial intelligence (AI), U.S. companies accounted for 72% of total investments. South Korea ranked ninth among the 12 countries surveyed, with only about 1%.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry analyzed venture investment statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) AI Policy Repository. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry...

According to an analysis by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the OECD AI Policy Observatory's venture investment statistics released on December 17, global venture capital investment in the AI sector totaled $158.4 billion in the first to third quarters of this year. This is nearly four times higher than the $40 billion invested ten years ago. The proportion of total venture capital invested in the AI industry surged from 20.0% in 2015 to 55.7% in 2025. By country, of the $158.4 billion invested in AI ventures this year, $114 billion (72.0%) went to U.S. companies. Last year, the U.S. accounted for 64.4%, indicating an even greater concentration this year. The United Kingdom ranked second, China third, and South Korea was ninth with $1.57 billion.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated, "While global investment in promising AI startups is increasing explosively, the amount of investment flowing into Korea falls short. Since investment ultimately reflects the market's perception of a company's attractiveness and competitiveness, the key is how many promising AI companies we can create."

Last year, the company that received the largest amount of venture capital worldwide was 'xAI.' The U.S.-based generative AI startup 'xAI' attracted a total of $11 billion in investment. The second largest recipient was the big data specialist 'Databricks,' followed by 'OpenAI,' the developer of ChatGPT. Among South Korean companies, the AI semiconductor firm 'Rebellions' raised $140 million, while the AI software company 'Upstage' attracted $110 million.