South Korea saw a 24.1% year-on-year increase in startup investment in Q1, reaching 3.32 trillion won ($2.21 billion). This marks the second-highest Q1 total on record, driven by significant growth in ICT services, biotech, and electric machinery, particularly AI-related semiconductor projects.
Google confirmed plans to invest up to $40 billion in AI startup Anthropic, comprising an initial $10 billion at a $380 billion valuation with $30 billion contingent on performance milestones. The deal marks the largest-ever investment in a startup, expanding a partnership dating back to 2023 when Google first invested $300 million. Anthropic has now secured investments from both Google and Amazon, as the company works to address infrastructure strain from explosive demand for its Claude AI assistant, which has driven annualized revenue above $30 billion.
