For startups, the first Q1 of 2025 has some important AI startup funding trends.
The popularity of AI-related startups shows no signs of abating anytime soon. New data from Crunchbase found that U.S. artificial intelligence startups dominate at all stages. Nearly half of venture funding went to AI-related enterprises, with roughly 61% of venture deals related to the industry.
However, in other news this week the high-profile collapse of London-based AI firm Builder.ai raises eyebrows and questions about what goes on under the bonnet at some of these high tech startups.
We often hear of the ‘black box’ phenomenon in which the decisions that AI makes can’t be fully explained by the training of the model. Yet in the case of Builder, the company’s ‘neural network’ was exposed to actually be 700 Indian engineers who took care of coding tasks that were being packaged as AI.
On the one hand, this highlights the gold rush around technology and the risk that startups are tempted to oversell their use of AI to attract more funding and clients. It also shows that due diligence has never been more important.
In other news, Softbank announced an investment of up to $40 billion in OpenAI, while Databricks snagged a similarly sized growth round, confirming in January that it raised $10 billion at a $62 billion valuation.
Despite the dominance of AI, other startups continue to find growth opportunities in industry verticals like petcare, financial services and patient care.
Here’s a rundown of some other startup stories in the news that you may have missed:
Kiwi raises $7.8 million Series A for AI-powered financial tools
Startups in the fintech space continue to find space to grow through untapped market niches.
Founded in 2020 by Mariano Sanz and Alexander Schachter, fintech company Kiwi has found success with this approach. The startup is building AI-powered financial tools that specifically service the needs of underbanked Latinos in the US and has recently raised a $7.8 million Series A equity round, bringing total equity raised to over $15 million in AI startup funding.
On a mission to expand credit access for underserved Latino communities across the United States, Kiwi experienced over 300% revenue growth in 2024. The platform has serviced more than 100,000 users since its launch, many of whom are building credit histories and accessing formal financial services for the first time.
Innovative Pet Lab partners up, securing its foothold in more states
Next the petcare sector saw an interesting development with an announcement from the Innovative Pet Lab, a science-forward startup offering at-home health tests for pets.
The news detailed a new partnership with Independent Pet Supply Distributors, a trusted and highly respected supplier of premium pet products. Through this partnership, more pet parents across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii will have access to Innovative Pet Lab’s at-home health tests.
Specific solutions such as a Comprehensive Gut Check, which analyzes key biomarkers related to gut health, and the Stress Test, which measures long-term cortisol levels rather than short-term spikes, highlight how the two companies are working to lift the lid on pet health in unmatched new ways.
This coincides with overall growth for the petcare industry, with startups addressing the rising number of pet owners willing to spend more disposable income on innovative solutions that prolong the health and wellbeing of their companions.
The U.S. market alone spent $186 billion on their pets in 2023, and industry expert Rachel Sheppard, Director – Ventures at Mars expects that startups able to address the most pressing areas of demand will find the most impact, including creative solutions to support pet shelters, vet SaaS and increasing quality time with pets.
Startup Buddy.ai demonstrates commitment to online child safety and protection
The global edtech and smart classrooms market size is expected to grow from $214.73 billion in 2025 to $445.94 billion in 2029, offering continued opportunities for startups operating in this space.
While some of these solutions will target educators and adult learners, children represent a significant demographic for this sector.
However, when products like games or study aids target minors, additional care must be taken. As generative AI chatbots become more readily available, key concerns include inappropriate content, dangerous parasocial relationships, and the lack of privacy and data protections.
Buddy.Ai, the world’s first conversational AI tutor for kids, demonstrated its commitment to the highest standards in this regard. This week the startup announced that parents of Buddy’s 20 million annual users can rest assured that learning English with Buddy is a safe and privacy-friendly choice as the company has been recognized as officially fully compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) as certified by the kidSAFE Seal Program.
Buddy.ai’s CEO and Co-founder Ivan Crewkov said, “attaining kidSAFE and COPPA compliance was important to us as parents — we wanted to build AI technology that prioritized safety and privacy complemented by design.”
AI communication startup Prezent doubles-down on value of UX
Prezent is an AI-powered communications startup that’s helping enterprises simplify the process of producing professional-quality presentations tailored to the target audience. For companies on a tight deadline who want a little human polish, Prezent offers an expedited service that turns draft documents into professional-grade presentations.
Earlier this year, it raised $20 million to further develop and refine its AI model for different use cases and expand into new markets.
And in the latest milestone, the company announced the launch of My Workspace. The new feature promises to make Prezent’s platform even easier for users to interact with.
Digging through disorganized files, re-uploading the same documents, and waiting for content to process still eats up valuable time. Now, teams can focus on using the AI-powered features from Prezent to create their presentations.
Intelligent Engineering takes center stage
Ness Digital Engineering, which is making waves in the world of AI thanks to its pioneering approach called Intelligent Engineering, was recognized with the 2025 BEST Award by the Association for Talent Development (ATD) – a highly sought-after recognition that celebrates organizations able to demonstrate the direct impact that talent has on enterprise success. Since 2003, the BEST Awards have recognized organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success through talent development.
Said Ranjit Tinaikar, CEO of Ness Digital Engineering, “Talent is at the heart of everything we do, and our continued success depends on empowering our people to grow with the evolving demands of the industry. This award is a proud reflection of the strong learning culture we’ve built at Ness Digital Engineering, one that prioritizes continuous development, curiosity, and future-readiness.”
Quantivly targets smart hospital sector, helping healthcare providers treat more patients
Quantivly is an AI platform helping radiology departments service more patients by organizing their fragmented operational data.
Smart hospitals have the potential to transform healthcare and help providers handle how patients move through the hospital in a more efficient manner. Here, the founders recognized the need for improved solutions for radiology, one care pathway with high costs and huge waste.
MRI scanners cost $1-4M, but take images for less than 50% of the day. This leads to a collective loss of $10B+ in uncaptured revenue nationwide. At the same time, demand for radiology imaging is soaring, driven by more preventive screening, new drug monitoring, and aging populations.
The company’s AI platform analyzes, cleans, and harmonizes scanner and operational data, including scheduling and staffing information, so more people can get through the door and it’s already being used by hospitals including Boston Children’s and UCSF.
Climate tech startups set to be featured at Horasis Global Meeting in São Paulo
In São Paulo, Brazil this October startups that address sustainability-related challenges will be placed in the spotlight at Horasis Global Meeting. Horasis is an independent, international think tank founded by Frank-Jürgen Richter that brings world leaders together to address the most pressing issues facing global societies today.
Its next global meeting scheduled for 7-10 October plans to look at climate-smart technologies accelerating the green transition, in addition to AI-driven industries revolutionizing productivity and connectivity.
Additionally, nature-based solutions and startups bridging ecology and economy, and sustainable infrastructure building resilient, inclusive societies will also be discussed as well as the challenges of AI startup funding.