U.S. Leads Global AI Race with $470 Billion in Private Investments, nearly 3x China, U.K. and Canada Combined

For years, the United States has been at the forefront of the global AI race, driving innovation through cutting-edge research, Silicon Valley titans like Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI, and massive VC investments powering its startup ecosystem. While competitors like China, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India have joined the race, none come close to matching U.S. private AI investments. In fact, the U.S. market has attracted more funding than all other top markets combined.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the United States attracted over $470 billion in private AI investments over the past decade, nearly three times more than China, the United Kingdom, and Canada, the next three top-investing markets combined.

Chinese AI Startups Saw 4x Less Private Investments

Early U.S. investments in AI research and development set the gold standard and turned the country into a global hub for cutting-edge innovation. With a massive influx of talent, capital, and government support, the U.S. AI sector has drawn hundreds of billions in private investments, far surpassing all other countries combined.

These investments include financial backing provided by venture capitalists, private equity firms, or individual investors supporting the development and growth of private AI startups and technologies. According to the Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025, published by Stanford University, they poured a jaw-dropping amount of money into their business over the past ten years.

Statistics show private investors injected more than $470 billion into AI startups and projects in the United States in the past ten years, far outpacing the value of investments in the rest of the world. To put this figure into perspective, the U.S. alone saw nearly three times more private AI investments than China, the U.K., and Canada combined, and 85% more than the top fourteen countries globally.

The second-ranked China saw $119.3 billion of private AI investments, nearly four times less than the U.S. That doesn`t surprise, considering that the country enjoys strong government support in AI. In some areas, this support is more centralized and aggressive than in the U.S. Far below, the United Kingdom ranked as the country with the third-highest private AI investments of $18.1 billion. Canada, Israel and Germany round the top five club, with $15.3 billion, $14.9 billion and 413.2 billion worth of investments, respectively.

Big Private AI Investments, Ranging from $500 Million to Over $1 Billion, Nearly Double in a Year

With most private AI investments going to American startups and projects, the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world will only widen in the future. Especially given the trend of a surge in major investments between $500 million and $1 billion, or even more.

According to the Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025, last year, investors made 15 private investments into AI startups that were heavier than $1 billion, up from nine reported a year before that. The number of investments between $500 million and $1 billion also soared, jumping from 9 to 20 year-over-year.