AI Mega-Rounds Keep Coming as Anthropic Chases $30B — May 25, 2026

Anthropic is nearing a funding round above $30 billion, while DeepSeek courts its first outside capital and Recursive emerges from stealth. The week’s startup funding pulse is still dominated by AI scale, with fintech infrastructure and China-focused funds adding market color. In this episode: Top stories: 1. Anthropic nears US$30 billion funding round to top OpenAI as most valuable AI startup - NEWSx.io — NewsX.io https://newsx.io/2026/05/23/anthropic-nears-us30-billion-funding-round-to-top-openai-as-most-valuable-ai-startup/ 2. DeepSeek founder declares AGI as the goal as $10bn funding round advances — The Next Web https://thenextweb.com/news/deepseek-agi-goal-10bn-funding-round 3. Recursive AI Startup Raises $650M for Self-Improving Tech | Phemex News — Phemex News https://phemex.com/news/article/ai-startup-recursive-secures-650-million-for-selfimproving-ai-technology-84831 4. Former Citadel quants raised $78M for the AI operating system Wall Street's wealth managers didn't have — The Next Web https://thenextweb.com/news/moment-78-million-citadel-quants-ai-trading-wealth-management 5. BAI Capital Holds $600M First Close of $800M Cross-Regional Fund | Fund Momentum — Fund Momentum https://fundmomentum.vc/blog/bai-capital-600m-first-close-800m-china-growth-fund-anna-long-2026 Follow and rate Startup Fundraising on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email [email protected]