Crunchbase Data: Global Startup Investment Hit Record $510B In H1 2026 As AI Boom Accelerates Funding And Exits

Global venture funding reached a record $510 billion in the first half of 2026, surpassing the $440 billion invested in all of 2025 and setting a new high for startup investment in any half-year period on record, Crunchbase data shows.

The data also illustrates how capital is concentrating into a handful of companies at unprecedented scale while IPOs and acquisitions have returned in force, with the second quarter notching one of the strongest periods for venture-backed exits in years.

OpenAI and Anthropic alone accounted for $217 billion — 43% of all startup funding in H1 — underscoring how a small handful of frontier AI companies is reshaping venture markets. At the same time, other massive funding deals across industries including AI infrastructure, defense, robotics and healthcare — combined with record IPO and M&A activity — signal that the AI investment boom has grown well beyond a select few top foundation labs.

Q2 2026 was the second-largest quarter on record for global venture investment, following on the heels of the largest quarter in Q1. All told, investors poured $205 billion into more than 5,000 startups in Q2, following $305 billion invested in Q1.