'A new, fun wrinkle': How AI is upending global VC — including in Australia
Silicon Valley's unprecedented $100 million seed rounds are forcing venture capitalists from Austin to Sydney to rethink their investment strategies.
AI hype is driving Silicon Valley startups to raise seed rounds bigger than what some Australian venture funds deploy in a year, prompting a fundamental recalibration of venture capital, a global VC data expert says.
Peter Walker, global head of insights at Carta, who analyses data from more than 40,000 companies, says the market has split in two: Silicon Valley, where AI companies can raise $100 million seed rounds in 60 minutes, and everywhere else, where startups fight for increasingly scarce capital.
"There are things happening in San Francisco right now — valuations, fundraising pace — that feel just like 2021," Walker told Capital Brief while visiting Australia for SXSW Sydney. "And then there are people in non-Silicon Valley markets that are really struggling to fundraise."
Australian data released today in Cut Through Venture’s Q3 2025 report shows that while 84% of Australian VCs say AI-first startups command higher valuations, local capital is diversifying.
As one VC explained to Cut Through: "There are lots of startups building SaaS 2.0 at the app layer, but our real opportunity is deeper in the infrastructure layer, in data centres and energy optimisation."
