Global startup investment in Q1 2025 reached $113 billion, the strongest quarter since Q2 2022, largely driven by artificial intelligence (AI) companies. AI startups captured 57.9% of global venture capital funding, with nearly $60 billion invested in the sector. OpenAI's $40 billion funding round, which set a $300 billion valuation for the company, accounted for a third of total global funding. In North America, venture funding climbed to $82 billion, with investment concentrated in fewer, larger companies. Asia experienced its weakest quarter for venture investment since 2014, mainly due to a sharp decline in funding for China-based startups. Europe’s venture funding plateaued at $12.6 billion, while European healthtech and AI startups raised $13.9 billion, including $4.3 billion in healthtech and $3.4 billion in AI startups. AI startups in Europe secured 25% of all VC capital. The UK led European tech investment with $4.2 billion, London contributed $3.2 billion, and Ireland saw investments rise to $538.4 million. Oxford's funding increased by 200%. Malta recorded the largest single deal with VistaJet raising $600 million. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that economic gains from AI will boost global output by about 0.5% annually between 2025 and 2030, surpassing the costs of increased carbon emissions from AI data centers. The IMF estimates AI-driven global electricity needs could more than triple to 1,500 terawatt-hours by 2030, equivalent to India's current electricity consumption and 1.5 times higher than expected demand from electric vehicles. Under current energy policies, greenhouse gas emissions could rise by 1.2% cumulatively between 2025 and 2030, with a social cost of $39 per ton, totaling $50.7 to $66.3 billion. Greener energy policies could limit the emissions increase to 1.3 gigatons. The US leads global AI investment with nearly $471 billion raised, outpacing China, the UK, and others. China leads in AI patents and publications, but the US maintains an edge in research quality and popular AI tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. The US recently announced the $500 billion Stargate Project to build new AI infrastructure. In the AI sector, 80% of tokens saw gains and the sector added $2.4 billion to its market cap. ChatGPT also debuted the $89 wearable OmiGPT. Industry experts and the IMF note that while AI's economic benefits are substantial, gains may not be distributed evenly worldwide. Policymakers and businesses are encouraged to minimize broader societal and environmental costs. Calls for regulation of AI, particularly in critical sectors such as energy grids and nuclear systems, have intensified.