(Zero Hedge)—Thanks to a record-breaking $40-billion funding round announced by OpenAI on March 31, VC-backed companies based in the U.S. raised $80 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
That’s the highest total for venture capital investment in the U.S. since Q1 2022 and more than double the amount invested in Q1 2024.
While that’s sounds great on paper, VC investment was on track to fall quarter-over-quarter and wouldn’t have looked nearly as impressive without OpenAI’s latest mega round.
Over the past few years, AI-related startups have attracted an increasingly large chunk of VC funding in the U.S., as investors were eager to get in on the ground floor and participate in the artificial intelligence gold rush.
As Statista’s Felix Richter shows in the chart below, according to Crunchbase data analyzed by EY, AI-related investments accounted for 71 percent of VC funding in Q1 2025, up from 45 percent in 2024 and 26 percent the year before.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Including the OpenAI deal, there were six AI-driven investments in the top 10 for the quarter. Looking ahead, AI investments will likely continue to dominate the venture capital space, as there’s still an abundance of investment opportunities for VC firms to pick from.
While plenty of investment is still going towards building the foundation for the AI-centric future, e.g. developing and training AI models and building the necessary infrastructure, EY notes that investors are gradually shifting their focus on the application layer as the next step in the AI value chain.
The Biggest Threat to Your Retirement Is Actually a Very Good Thing
When you look at the headlines today, you’ll see experts in the retirement industry warning about big threats to your financial security:
- De-dollarization and the rise of BRICS
- Soaring national debt
- Unstable interest rates
- Weakened U.S. dollar
All of these are real concerns. But they aren’t the biggest threat to your retirement savings. The true risk isn’t political, monetary, or global.
It’s longevity.
Why Longevity Is the Silent Threat
For most of human history, the problem was the opposite — life expectancy was short, and few people even reached retirement. Today, thanks to medical advancements, healthier lifestyles, and better living conditions, people are living longer than ever before.
And while that’s a wonderful thing, it comes with a financial catch: Your retirement account has to last far longer than you might expect.
- A 65-year-old couple today has a 50% chance that one of them will live to 90.
- Some projections suggest that many of us will live well into our 90s, even 100+.
- This means your nest egg may need to stretch not for 15 years, but 25, 30, or even 40 years.
That’s where the real danger lies: running out of money before you run out of life.
The Retirement Equation Has Changed
While market volatility, debt crises, or central bank policies may feel like the scariest threats, they’re temporary storms. Longevity, however, is a structural shift. Every extra year of life is another year of expenses, another year of inflation erosion, and another year of financial pressure.
If your retirement plan doesn’t account for longevity, you could face tough choices later in life — downsizing, working when you’d rather not, or becoming financially dependent on others.
How to Take Control
The good news? Longevity is a blessing — as long as you’re prepared for it. With the right planning, your retirement savings can work for you instead of against you. The key is learning how to protect your wealth, outpace inflation, and ensure your savings grow even as you live longer.
That’s why our friends at Augusta Precious Metals created a free resource to help you get started:
👉 Get Instant Access to the report, “How to Take Full Control of Your Financial Future”
This brief report will show you practical strategies to safeguard your retirement from the biggest threat of all — the one that comes from the gift of living longer.
Don’t let longevity catch you unprepared. Take the steps today to secure tomorrow.
