The Torrent of AI Money: Investment Strategies and Next Moves of 'Regular VCs' in Q3 2025

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In the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, the main players in startup investment were once again familiar faces. Prominent VCs such as Y Combinator, Insight Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and Accel dominated the top of the rankings in both the number of deals and total investment amount. Investment activity remains heated, centered primarily on large AI-related rounds.

1. Lead Investor Ranking: Insight Partners Takes an Overwhelming Lead

According to the latest data from Crunchbase, Insight Partners topped the list as the "most active lead investor" in Q3. They participated in 19 deals as a lead or co-lead investor, with notable transactions including a $1 billion funding round for Databricks and a $260 million Series E for legal tech unicorn Filevine.

Following them were Accel (14 deals), as well as the former Sequoia India entity Peak XV Partners and General Catalyst. All of these firms are actively deploying capital, primarily in the AI, SaaS, and infrastructure sectors.

2. Top Capital Deployment: The $1.3 Billion Anthropic Round Symbolizes AI Investment Frenzy

On the list of "investors who deployed the most capital," Anthropic's Series F (at a $13 billion valuation) was co-led by Fidelity, Iconiq Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners, who occupied the top spots.

These investors are pouring massive amounts of capital into the AI "safety" sector and the infrastructure supporting foundation model development, acting as the pillars sustaining the AI bubble. It is also worth noting that Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Insight Partners led multiple $1 billion-scale rounds, with 19 companies securing "over $1 billion funding rounds" where these firms acted as lead or co-lead investors.

3. Post-Seed Support Forces: Y Combinator Leads Overwhelmingly

While not a lead investor, Y Combinator (YC) showed an overwhelming presence in the number of "post-seed investments" in Q3. They recorded nearly 30 follow-on investments in startups after their accelerator graduation, followed by General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz (both with 29 deals).

This movement indicates that YC is evolving beyond a mere accelerator into a "long-term support investor" involved in the entire growth stage of its portfolio companies.

4. Seed Stage: Y Combinator vs. TechStars vs. Antler

In the seed space, Y Combinator maintained its global lead with 218 seed investments. While this is an increase from the previous quarter (Q2), it is a slight decrease year-over-year. Meanwhile, TechStars and Antler are also strengthening their presence, intensifying competition in the global startup support ecosystem.

In emerging fields such as AI, climate tech, and biotech, the structure where these accelerators are responsible for discovering and nurturing the next generation of unicorns continues.

5. Summary: The Inflow of AI Money Shows No Signs of Stopping

What emerges from the third-quarter investment trends is the reality that "the players remain the same, and only the focus of investment is concentrated on AI."
Insight Partners, a16z, General Catalyst, and Iconiq Capital continue to hold the top spots, and the concentration of capital in AI infrastructure companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Mistral, and Databricks is particularly notable.

Many investors already hold AI unicorns in their portfolios, and the prediction that "even larger rounds will continue through the end of 2025" is becoming increasingly realistic. The focus moving forward is how long the AI investment fever will last and which sectors the next wave of capital inflow will reach.

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