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U.S. Venture Capital Deployment Reached Record $412.7 Billion in First Half of 2026, Almost Entirely in Large AI Deals
PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association reported that AI-related deals captured 86 percent of the total. Exit value reached $2.2 trillion, driven almost entirely by SpaceX.
Jul 10, 4:49 AM·1m read1 source
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U.S. venture capital firms deployed a record $412.7 billion in the first half of 2026, according to the PitchBook and National Venture Capital Association midyear report. The figure exceeded the full-year 2025 total by 30 percent.
AI deals accounted for 86 percent of all venture dollars deployed. Deals of $100 million or larger received 91 percent of the capital. Total exit value for U.S. venture-backed companies reached $2.2 trillion in the same period.
SpaceX accounted for all of that amount, including $1.7 trillion from its IPO. xAI contributed $250 billion to the exit-value total. Cursor is expected to add another $60 billion when it exits in the third quarter.
Kyle Stanford, PitchBook director of U.S. venture capital research, said the market has split into two distinct areas. He described SpaceX as the center of the universe for venture capital. Stanford added that the market needs one of the two other large prospective IPOs, OpenAI or Anthropic, to list this year to clarify valuations.
OpenAI and Anthropic remain the largest remaining candidates for 2026.
