SAN FRANCISCO (Realist English). The artificial intelligence surge has created dozens of new billionaires in 2025, marking one of the fastest and largest episodes of wealth generation in modern history. Massive funding rounds for Anthropic, Safe Superintelligence, OpenAI, Anysphere and others have propelled valuations to record highs. According to CB Insights, there are now 498 private AI companies valued at $1 billion or more — collectively worth $2.7 trillion — with 100 founded since 2023. More than 1,300 AI startups now exceed $100 million in value.
This private-market boom is reinforced by soaring share prices of AI-linked giants such as Nvidia, Meta and Microsoft, alongside heavy investment in computing infrastructure and multimillion-dollar pay packages for AI engineers. “Going back over 100 years of data, we have never seen wealth created at this size and speed,” said Andrew McAfee, principal researcher at MIT.
Bloomberg estimated in March that four of the largest private AI firms had already produced at least 15 billionaires worth a combined $38 billion, with more unicorns emerging since. Mira Murati, who left OpenAI in 2024, raised $2 billion in February for her new venture, Thinking Machines Lab, valuing it at $12 billion. Anthropic is reportedly seeking $5 billion at a $170 billion valuation, nearly triple its March figure, while Anysphere’s valuation has jumped from $9.9 billion in June to a reported $18–20 billion within weeks.
Although most AI wealth remains locked in private companies, secondary markets are expanding, enabling founders and early investors to sell equity or borrow against it. OpenAI is in talks for a secondary share sale at a potential $500 billion valuation, up from $300 billion in March. Since 2023, CB Insights has tracked 73 liquidity events, including mergers, acquisitions and IPOs.
The boom is heavily concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, where companies raised more than $35 billion in venture capital last year. The region now counts 82 billionaires, surpassing New York’s 66, according to New World Wealth and Henley & Partners. Luxury home sales above $20 million hit a record in 2024, with rising rents and prices reversing the city’s recent downturn. “It’s astonishing how geographically concentrated this AI wave is,” McAfee noted.
Wealth managers are positioning for eventual IPO-driven liquidity, but attracting AI founders may be challenging. Many prefer investing in peers’ startups rather than traditional portfolios, echoing patterns from the dot-com era. Simon Krinsky of Pathstone said early AI entrepreneurs are likely to follow the same path as 1990s tech millionaires — concentrating wealth in the sector, then seeking diversification and professional management after market downturns.
“After people were beaten up in the early 2000s, they came around to appreciating diversification and hiring a professional manager to protect them from themselves,” Krinsky said. “I anticipate a similar trend with the AI group.”
