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

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. Table of contents Exits peak in Q2 Capital concentration Beyond Anthropic Late-stage funding Early-stage funding Seed Record exits market returns A new venture cycle takes shape Methodology Glossary of funding terms Exits peak in Q2 Record funding defined the first half of the year as the period topped the previous half-year peak, reached in H2 2021, of $375 billion.

The second quarter also marked a turning point for liquidity. IPOs and startup acquisitions accelerated alongside venture investment, producing the strongest exit market since the 2021 boom, Crunchbase data shows. The largest IPO ever for a venture-backed company and the largest startup acquisition ever both took place in Q2.