Venture capital hit record highs in Q1 2026. Global VC funding surged to $285.5 billion, the highest quarterly total ever recorded, driven largely by a massive $122 billion OpenAI round. Mega-rounds of $100 million or more accounted for 86 percent of all capital deployed, nearly all in AI-related companies. Major financings included $30 billion for Anthropic, $16 billion for Waymo, and $7.5 billion for xAI. However, deal volume fell 15 percent to 7,000 globally, the lowest since late 2016, signaling growing selectivity among investors. Exit activity weakened to near two-year lows, with IPOs cut in half. Capital is shifting toward AI infrastructure and hard tech, including transformer-optimized chips and quantum computing. Fintech is poised for a comeback fueled by generative AI and digital assets, potentially sparking the next venture super-cycle in financial services.
