VC Is Dead. 4 Companies Took All The Money.
Q1 2026 was the biggest quarter in venture capital history. $300 billion invested globally.
Headlines called it a comeback.
It wasn't.
OpenAI raised $122 billion. Anthropic raised $30 billion. xAI raised $20 billion. Waymo raised $16 billion. Four companies took 65% of all global venture capital in a single quarter. The rest of the world's startups split what was left.
This is not a boom. It is concentration. LPs are piling into five mega-funds. Those funds are piling into five consensus companies. Those companies are pulling in the best talent. Every level feeds the next and the loop keeps tightening.
This video breaks down how it happened, why it is accelerating, and what the only viable strategy looks like for everyone locked out of the top.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 VC Record Quarter Myth
00:19 Four Mega Winners
01:39 LP Money Concentration
03:11 Mega Funds Pick Winners
03:39 Talent Clusters in AI
04:16 Back to 2021 Mania
05:10 2022 Crash and Pullback
06:24 ChatGPT Sparks FOMO
07:13 Megafund Math Drives Bets
10:13 Data Shows Top Heavy
11:03 Who Gets Hurt Most
13:17 Temporary or New Normal
15:54 Fast Exit Second Market
17:14 Playbook for Small Funds
18:08 Wrap Up and Subscribe
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