Concurrently, the main intrigue of the second half of the year is unfolding—the IPO race among artificial intelligence labs. Following the triumphant June debut of SpaceX with a valuation exceeding $1 trillion, the market is now poised for the IPOs of Anthropic and OpenAI, which could add nearly $3 trillion in new capitalization to public markets. Below are the key events and trends shaping the agenda of the venture market as of August 11, 2026.
Key topics of the day: what investors are discussing on August 11
- Week of billion-dollar checks. Hadrian, Base Power, and Valar Atomics closed rounds of $1 billion and more—three "unicorns" in seven days affirm the strength of the upward cycle.
- Infrastructure shift. Capital is flowing into energy, nuclear reactors, photonic chips, and network infrastructure for AI—"shovels and pickaxes" of a new technological era.
- Record-breaking first half. $510 billion in global venture investments for the first six months of 2026—a historic high according to market analysts.
- IPO pipeline gaining momentum. Anthropic is considering a listing as early as October with a valuation around $900 billion, while OpenAI is preparing for its own IPO in the fourth quarter.
- Sovereign capital in play. Gulf and Asian mega-funds, including the $49 billion MGX fund, are increasingly acting as anchor investors in the largest rounds.
- Russia and the CIS. The market in the region is expected to grow by 10–15% by the end of the year; the "Venture Landscape" forum will take place in Moscow on August 13.
Week of big checks: Hadrian, Base Power, and Valar Atomics
The past week was one of the busiest of the year in terms of megadeals. Hadrian, which builds highly automated factories for the aerospace and defense industries, raised $1.37 billion in a Series D round with participation from WCM Investment Management, Valor Equity Partners, JPMorgan Chase, and Baillie Gifford. Energy startup Base Power and modular nuclear reactor developer Valar Atomics each closed rounds of $1 billion.
Notably, the Valar Atomics deal stands out: the company raised $1 billion in Series B at a valuation of $6 billion for the mass production of compact reactors to power data centers, led by a syndicate headed by Sequoia Capital with participation from Point72 and Valor Equity Partners, and additionally secured a $200 million credit line from a syndicate led by JPMorgan. In a separate highlight, the startup Lumilens, which is developing a connectivity platform for AI infrastructure, has emerged from "stealth mode" with a round exceeding $700 million.
AI infrastructure: energy and chips become mainstream
The structure of August deals reflects a strategic shift: investors are funding not so much AI applications as the physical foundation for their operation. Market analysts see the bottlenecks of the next wave of innovation as computing, energy, and specialized equipment. Notable deals from recent weeks include:
- The London startup OLIX Computing raised about $312 million in Series B at a valuation of $3.3 billion for photonic chips for AI inference—a bet on computing beyond classic GPUs.
- Baseten, a provider of software infrastructure for launching AI workloads, closed Series F at $1.5 billion—the fourth round in a year and a half.
- Fireworks AI raised $1.5 billion to transform general-purpose models into specialized enterprise intelligence.
- Energy company Joulent from Houston previously secured $1.75 billion in strategic funding for infrastructure serving compute-intensive industries.
The rationale of investors is clear: generic AI products are quickly replicated, whereas energy, chips, data centers, and proprietary data create hard-to-overcome barriers for competitors. This is where the largest checks are going today.
Record-breaking first half: $510 billion and accelerating exits
Results for the first half of 2026 confirm that the market is experiencing a full-fledged boom. Global venture investments reached a record $510 billion, with the largest rounds not only going to developers of foundational models but also to defense technologies, robotics, AI infrastructure, and healthcare. The year began with Elon Musk's xAI closing a Series E round of $20 billion—the first of a series of record megadeals for the quarter. Importantly, the growth in volume is accompanied by an acceleration in exits: activity in M&A and IPO segments is strengthening, returning liquidity to funds and completing the investment cycle.
IPO pipeline: after SpaceX, the market awaits Anthropic and OpenAI
The June listing of SpaceX on NASDAQ with a valuation exceeding $1 trillion marked the largest IPO in history and set a benchmark for the entire market. Now, attention is focused on AI labs. Anthropic, whose annual run-rate revenue exceeds $44 billion, is considering a public offering as early as October: discussions are underway to raise about $30 billion at a valuation of around $900 billion. OpenAI is preparing for its own debut in the fourth quarter and is bolstering its financial team, although investors note risks—from legal disputes to an anticipated loss of $14 billion for 2026 amid expenses on energy and chips.
The revival has also extended to adjacent sectors: geothermal company Fervo Energy conducted the largest IPO in renewable energy history, raising $1.89 billion. According to investment banks' forecasts, the total volume of IPOs in 2026 could reach $160 billion—four times last year's level. For venture funds, this signifies a major opportunity: the window for exits is open wider than ever in the last five years.
Mega-funds and sovereign capital: who is writing the largest checks
A distinctive feature of the current cycle is the dominance of sovereign funds and corporate giants in the upper segment of deals. The MGX fund from Abu Dhabi closed its first fund at $49 billion, exceeding the targeted $45 billion, and has already invested in companies ranging from semiconductors to AI platforms. The Singaporean GIC has, in certain weeks, led two nine-figure rounds. Traditional venture firms are responding with concentration of capital in mega-funds—institutional LPs are increasingly choosing the largest managers, enhancing the stratification of the industry into "super-heavy" and niche segments.
Europe and Israel: growth points outside the US
While the US remains a magnet for capital, notable deals are also occurring in other regions. Madrid-based HappyRobot, which is creating autonomous AI agents for supply chains, secured $150 million in Series C with participation from a16z and corporate funds from Orange and Deutsche Telekom. Israeli company Zenity, focused on AI agent security, closed Series C at $125 million led by Norwest Ventures with participation from the SoftBank Vision Fund 2. Together with UK-based OLIX, these deals illustrate that European and Middle Eastern ecosystems are successfully integrating into global infrastructure trends, and investors should keep an eye on companies beyond Silicon Valley.
Russia and the CIS: cautious recovery and a focus on pre-IPO
The Russian venture market is demonstrating signs of stabilization after years of decline. Analysts estimate that the market could grow by 10–15% in 2026—approximately up to 17 billion rubles—with private and state funds serving as the main drivers, while the activity of business angels remains restrained due to high key rates. Market participants are pinning hopes on the pre-IPO segment: easing monetary policy could ignite a new wave of offerings and significantly expand this segment. The upcoming forum "Venture Landscape," taking place on August 13 in Moscow's "Lomonosov" cluster, will serve as a key point for gauging sentiment, gathering funds, development institutions, and technology companies.
Investor’s perspective: how to read the market on August 11, 2026
The current phase of the cycle demands a two-tier strategy from venture investors. On one hand, anchor positions in capital-intensive megatrends: energy for AI, specialized computing, automated manufacturing, and defense technologies, where each percentage of efficiency scales to trillion-dollar markets. On the other hand, selective bets on niche vertical solutions, where a disciplined investor finds reasonable valuations without speculative premiums. Key risks remain: the overvaluation of companies jumping to "unicorn" status in a single round, and the entire structure's dependence on the success of autumn IPOs. A weak debut from any of the giants could trigger a reevaluation of the entire AI segment—but for now, the market is voting with capital for the continuation of the rally, and Tuesday, August 11, simply confirms this trend.
