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Venture Capital Statistics 2026
Global venture funding in 2026, the scale of the AI boom, and where the money is going, with sources.
Global venture capital deployed about 440 billion dollars in 2025 and then a record 510 billion dollars in the first half of 2026 alone. Artificial intelligence has come to dominate the market, taking well over half of all funding, and the United States accounts for roughly two-thirds of it.
Key takeaways
- 2025 funding: about 425 to 440 billion dollars globally, up roughly 30 percent on 2024 (Crunchbase).
- 2026 surge: a record 510 billion dollars in the first half alone, surpassing all of 2025 (Crunchbase).
- AI dominance: AI took about half to two-thirds of 2025 funding and roughly 80 percent in early 2026.
- Concentration: the United States accounts for two-thirds or more of global funding; the top handful of deals take a huge share.
Venture capital in 2026 is a story of two markets: a historic boom by the headline numbers, and, underneath, a far narrower reality once a handful of enormous artificial-intelligence deals are stripped out. The figures below carry their source, because the trackers count differently. For how the asset class works, see What Is Venture Capital?
The headline numbers
Global venture funding reached about 425 to 440 billion dollars in 2025, up roughly 30 percent on 2024, according to Crunchbase. Then the first half of 2026 alone set a record of about 510 billion dollars, surpassing the whole of 2025 and marking the largest half-year on record. For context, that single half-year is roughly ten times the peak quarterly total of the dot-com boom.
The AI concentration
One force explains almost all of it: artificial intelligence. Estimates of AI's share of 2025 funding range from about half (Crunchbase and CB Insights) to 61 percent (OECD) to 64 percent (PitchBook), and the figure climbed to roughly 80 percent in early 2026. The concentration is extreme at the top: a tiny fraction of deals, the frontier AI labs and infrastructure rounds, absorb about half of all venture dollars. Strip out the AI megarounds and the rest of the venture market looks closer to flat.
Geographic concentration
The United States dominates, taking roughly two-thirds or more of global funding, and within it the San Francisco Bay Area alone accounts for a large share. Europe and Asia trail well behind.
A note on the numbers
The trackers disagree because they measure different things. Crunchbase counts venture rounds by headquarters and revises as late filings arrive; PitchBook-NVCA covers the US; Stanford's index is annual and includes some private equity. When you see a venture figure, check whose count it is and what it includes before comparing it with another.
Frequently asked questions
- How much venture capital was invested in 2025 and 2026?
- Global venture funding was about 425 to 440 billion dollars in 2025, up roughly 30 percent on 2024, according to Crunchbase. The first half of 2026 then set a record of about 510 billion dollars, surpassing all of 2025, driven by very large AI rounds.
- How much of venture capital goes to AI?
- A dominant share. Estimates for 2025 range from about half (Crunchbase) to 61 percent (OECD) to 64 percent (PitchBook) of all funding, and the figure rose to roughly 80 percent in the first quarter of 2026. AI has effectively become the venture market.
- Where does most venture capital go?
- The United States, which takes roughly two-thirds or more of global funding, with the San Francisco Bay Area alone accounting for a large share. Funding is also highly concentrated by deal: a tiny fraction of deals take about half the dollars.
This guide is educational and general in nature. It does not constitute investment, legal, tax or financial advice.
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