General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz led active VC ranks in Q2

U.S. startup funding in the second quarter was still concentrated among familiar venture capital names, according to Crunchbase data. For retail investors watching the AI boom from public markets, the data shows where private-market money is still moving before many companies ever reach an IPO.

General Catalyst, Y Combinator and Andreessen Horowitz ranked as the most active post-seed venture investors in U.S. startups, Crunchbase reported. Post-seed refers to funding rounds after the earliest seed stage, and Crunchbase counted rounds of $3 million or more for this ranking.

Established firms kept writing checks

General Catalyst topped the post-seed activity list with 39 deals in the quarter, according to Crunchbase. Y Combinator followed with 34 deals, and Andreessen Horowitz recorded 28.

More than two-thirds of those deals went to AI-focused startups, Crunchbase said. That matters because private funding often shapes which companies can hire, build products and compete long before public investors can buy their shares directly.

Y Combinator’s high placement also reflects its model. Crunchbase noted that the accelerator often makes nonlead follow-on investments in companies that previously went through its program. A nonlead investor participates in a round but does not set the main terms or take the central role in organizing the financing.

Andreessen Horowitz led the most rounds

The ranking changes when the focus shifts from total deal count to lead investors. A lead investor is the firm that heads a financing round, often helping set valuation and terms, while other investors join the syndicate.

By that measure, Andreessen Horowitz ranked first in the second quarter with 17 led or co-led venture rounds, according to Crunchbase. Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst tied for second, with each leading or co-leading 13 rounds.

Crunchbase said at least 12 investors led or co-led six or more venture rounds during the quarter. The overlap between the busiest overall investors and the busiest lead investors shows that large, well-known venture firms are still playing central roles in both deal volume and deal formation.

Anthropic financing shaped the spending list

The investors attached to the largest aggregate round values were heavily influenced by Anthropic’s financings, Crunchbase reported. This spending view is not a precise measure of how much each investor contributed, because venture firms usually do not disclose their exact share of a round.

Crunchbase said 10 co-lead investors in Anthropic’s $50 billion Series H financing in May ranked near the top of the spending list. Google also appeared after leading a separate $10 billion tranche, while Amazon appeared after leading a $5 billion tranche.

A tranche is a portion of financing that may be separated from a broader funding arrangement. In this case, Crunchbase identified the Google- and Amazon-led portions as separate pieces of Anthropic financing activity.

Across the quarter, 23 investors led or co-led U.S. venture rounds valued at $2 billion or more, according to Crunchbase.

Seed activity stayed busy

At the earliest stages, Y Combinator remained the most active seed investor. Crunchbase said the accelerator backed at least 225 seed, pre-seed or convertible note rounds for newly formed startups in the quarter.

Antler ranked second among seed-stage investors, with LvlUp Ventures following, according to Crunchbase. Seed and pre-seed rounds typically fund companies near the beginning of their life, while convertible notes are debt-like instruments that can later convert into equity.

Crunchbase’s rankings point to an active U.S. venture market across stages, from newly formed startups to late-stage AI companies raising large financings. The next signal for investors will be whether that pace carries into the third quarter.

This story draws on original reporting from Crunchbase News.