Market report
The superintelligence funding wave: who is backing SI labs in 2026
In short. Capital is pouring into labs that say outright they are building superintelligence. Foundational AI startups raised $178 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone, twice the total for all of 2025. New superintelligence labs are raising hundreds of millions before shipping a product, and at least one has already bought its .si domain.
The numbers
Funding figures cover foundational AI labs, the companies building the most capable models.
| Q1 2026 | Foundational AI startups raised $178 billion across 24 deals, versus $88.9 billion across 66 deals in all of 2025 (Crunchbase) |
|---|---|
| Concentration | The largest Q1 2026 rounds went to OpenAI ($122 billion), Anthropic ($30 billion Series G) and xAI ($20 billion Series E) (Crunchbase) |
| May 2026 | Recursive Superintelligence emerges from stealth with $650 million at a $4.65 billion valuation, led by GV and Greycroft, with AMD Ventures and Nvidia (The Decoder) |
| April 2025 | Safe Superintelligence (SSI) raises $2 billion at a $32 billion valuation (Maginative) |
| 29 Sept 2026 | US executive order directs federal agencies to say "Super Intelligence" and "SI" (White House) |
What the money is backing
- Superintelligence as the stated goal. Labs such as Recursive Superintelligence and Safe Superintelligence put the word in their names. Recursive describes its aim as AI that "recursively improves itself".
- Strategic investors alongside VCs. Chipmakers (Nvidia, AMD Ventures) invest next to venture funds (GV, Greycroft), linking compute supply to lab equity.
- Fewer, bigger rounds. 24 foundational deals in Q1 2026 raised twice as much as 66 deals in 2025. Money is concentrating in a handful of labs.
Why this matters for funds, studios and accelerators
- New vehicles need names. Each wave of AI money has produced new funds, venture studios and accelerators. A fund or studio launched for SI labs needs a brand that reads as SI.
- Labs are already buying .si. Recursive Superintelligence bought recursive.si for $20,000 (NamePros). That is the same move AI companies made to .ai.
- The vocabulary has changed. Since the executive order, "SI" is the US federal term. Funds that pitch to government-adjacent LPs, or to founders who use the new term, benefit from matching language.
Where fundlabs.si fits
fundlabs.si names both halves of this market, the funds that finance SI and the labs that build it, on the extension that now reads as Super Intelligence. It is priced at £2,500 plus escrow fees. See the case for fundlabs.si
Related reading
- The case for fundlabs.si: why the name works and likely uses
- .si domains for funds, venture studios and accelerators: market data and sales
- fundlabs.si price, .si demand and comparable sales
Sources
- Crunchbase News — Foundational AI funding doubled in Q1 2026
- The Decoder — Recursive emerges from stealth with $650M
- Crowdfund Insider — Recursive Superintelligence secures $650M
- Maginative — Safe Superintelligence raises $2B at $32B valuation
- NamePros — Recursive.si sold for $20,000
- White House — Fact Sheet: The Era of Super Intelligence