Growth
How AI is reshaping the U.S. Venture Landscape
- Growth
- Report
- 3 minutes read
Our U.S. Completed Financings Guide provides a focused analysis of how the AI wave is reshaping valuations and influencing round dynamics across the U.S. venture landscape. This AI Spotlight Report offers investors and founders a targeted view into the impact of AI on sector trends, valuation terms, term sheet economics, and dilution - helping you anticipate where the next wave of opportunity may emerge.
- AI-native companies are driving up-round momentum and premium valuations across multiple sectors.
- Despite the hype, employee stock option pool sizes remain consistent between AI and non-AI firms.
- Investors are offering founder-friendly terms for AI deals, with fewer governance controls than non-AI tech.
Key findings
AI Penetration Varies by Sector
The share of AI-native companies is highest in Software (67%) and Hardware (72%), while sectors like Life Sciences (39%) and Consumer (44%) remain more non-AI dominant. This split highlights where AI is most actively reshaping deal flow and investor appetite.
Bianca Caban | Vice President, HSBC Innovation Bank U.S."The resounding market signal from the guide is that capital is concentrating to fewer (AI) companies, and I expect that to continue into 2026."
AI Drives Up-Rounds, but Terms remain Founder-Friendly
AI-native startups are nearly 10x as likely to raise an up-round as a down-round, especially in software and hardware. However, term sheet economics—such as preference shares, anti-dilution, and option pool sizes—are nearly identical to non-AI deals, with the real difference appearing in control provisions, which are more favorable to founders.
Employee dilution unchanged by AI
Contrary to the narrative that AI companies pay extraordinary premiums for talent, the data shows employee stock option pool sizes are nearly identical for AI-native and non-AI firms. The most common allocation is 10–19% of fully diluted equity, and the distribution across buckets differs by less than four percentage points between AI and non-AI companies—even as valuations climb.
Paul Navarro | Partner, Perkins Coie"Alignment through equity, specifically Employee Stock Option Programs (ESOP), continues to be a priority for founders and investors, even as AI scales investment sizes and valuations, demonstrating the continued importance of the attraction and retention of the best talent."
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