VCs Warn of AI Investment ‘Groupthink’ as 75% of Funding Flows to Just Five Companies

Venture capitalists at a TechCrunch StrictlyVC event in Athens on May 30, 2026, cautioned that AI investment has reached extreme levels of groupthink, with three-quarters of all VC funding over the past year concentrated in just five companies. Niko Bonatsos of Verdict Capital noted he has never seen more uniformity of opinion in 17 years in Silicon Valley. The discussion addressed SpaceX’s reported $1.75 trillion IPO target, which panelists said could expand public market participation rather than crowd out other listings. Andreas Stavropoulos of Threshold Ventures compared it to the Google IPO, predicting it will draw more investors to tech. Ben Blume of Atomico said the space company’s unique appeal may shift capital from software firms but overall interest will compensate. On valuations, Bonatsos said AI tools let two founders achieve in months what once required larger teams, leading to faster funding rounds. But Stavropoulos warned of a near-term correction, saying optimism remains ahead of results. The panel also flagged liberal ARR reporting among AI startups, with token-based billing inflating numbers.