Current Startup and Venture Investment News as of February 7, 2026: Major Funding Rounds, Growth in AI Investments, Venture Fund Activity, and Key Global Trends for Investors
As of early February 2026, the global venture capital market continues to recover confidently from the downturns of recent years. Preliminary estimates indicate that 2025 was one of the most successful years in terms of startup investment (only behind the record-setting years of 2021 and 2022), signaling the return of significant private capital to the technology sector. Investors worldwide are once again actively financing promising companies: record-sized deals are being closed, and startups’ plans for IPOs are returning to the agenda. Leading venture funds are emerging with new mega-rounds and strategies, while governments and corporations are stepping up support for innovation, eager not to fall behind in the global technology race. As a result, the venture market at the start of 2026 shows positive dynamics, instilling cautious optimism, despite investors still being selective in evaluating projects and the viability of business models.
The geographical recovery is global in nature, though unevenly distributed. The primary driving force remains the United States, which accounts for the lion’s share of large rounds (especially in the field of artificial intelligence). In Europe, venture investments continue to grow: following the results of 2025, Germany surpassed the UK in attracted capital for the first time, strengthening the positions of European tech hubs. In Asia, the dynamics are mixed: the Indian ecosystem has reached a new level of maturity (with the first "unicorns" of 2026 appearing in January and high-profile IPOs reviving on local exchanges), while activity in China remains subdued due to regulatory pressure and a redirection of resources towards domestic priorities. In contrast, the Middle East and North Africa are accelerating their pace: funds from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are pouring billions into technology companies both regionally and globally, financing fintech, cloud services, and AI startups. Meanwhile, startup ecosystems in Russia and neighboring countries are also making efforts not to lag behind by launching local funds and programs, although their volumes are still considerably smaller. Thus, the new venture boom encompasses nearly all continents, creating a more balanced global innovation ecosystem.
Below are key events and trends shaping the agenda for startups and venture investments as of February 7, 2026:
- The return of mega funds and large investors. Leading venture firms are raising record-sized funds and rapidly increasing investments, once again filling the market with capital and fueling risk appetite.
- Unprecedented AI mega-rounds and a new wave of “unicorns”. Fantastically large investments in the AI sector are driving startup valuations to unprecedented heights and creating dozens of new unicorns.
- Climate tech and energy attract mega deals. The sustainable energy sector and climate tech are taking center stage with multi-million and billion-dollar funding rounds globally.
- Consolidation in fintech: large exits and a wave of M&A. Mature fintech players are becoming targets for multi-billion dollar acquisitions, while the unicorns themselves are expanding through strategic acquisitions.
- A revival of the IPO market. Initial public offerings of technology companies are once again in the spotlight: successful IPOs inspire new candidates to prepare for going public.
- Focus on defense, space, and cybersecurity startups. Venture funds are reallocating capital to strategic sectors—from defense and space to cybersecurity—in response to geopolitical challenges.
- A resurgence in biotech and medtech investments. After a prolonged downturn, the biotech and digital health sectors are attracting significant capital once again, driven by successful M&A deals and scientific breakthroughs.
The Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back on the Market
Leading investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture capital market, signaling a renewed appetite for risk. Global funds are announcing unprecedented capital-raising rounds: American giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) raised over $15 billion for new funds, bringing its total assets under management to a record $90 billion. These funds are directed towards priority areas—from artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies to defense technologies and biotech. Japan is keeping pace as well: SoftBank launched its third Vision Fund with approximately $40 billion and is simultaneously increasing its presence in the AI sector. At the end of 2025, SoftBank invested $22.5 billion in OpenAI, making one of the largest single investments in the history of the startup industry. Other players are also actively boosting their capital “reserves”: for example, Lightspeed Venture Partners closed new funds totaling over $9 billion—a record in the firm's 25-year history—while Tiger Global, recovering from recent losses, returned to the market with a $2.2 billion fund, reiterating its ambitions.
The influx of such “big capital” is filling the market with liquidity and intensifying competition for the most promising deals. Sovereign funds from the Middle East and government institutions worldwide are also injecting billions into technology projects, creating new mega platforms for financing innovation. Estimates suggest that the total amount of dry powder in investors' hands now counts in the hundreds of billions of dollars and is ready for deployment as confidence in the market strengthens. The return of large money confirms investors' faith in the continued growth of the tech sector and their desire not to miss the next significant technological breakthrough.
The AI Startup Boom: Mega-Rounds and New Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector is the primary driver of the current venture surge, setting historical records for deal volumes. Investors are eager to secure a place at the forefront of the AI revolution and are prepared to fund colossal rounds to support race leaders. Already in early 2026, unprecedented deals have been announced: for example, Waymo (Alphabet's autonomous division) raised approximately $16 billion in new funding at a valuation of $126 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in history. Cerebras Systems, a developer of chips for AI, also closed a major round, receiving $1 billion in investments (valuation around $23 billion). Industry leader OpenAI is reportedly negotiating to raise up to $100 billion at a valuation of roughly $800 billion—an unprecedented scale of private financing that the world has not yet seen (discussions involve SoftBank, as well as corporations Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and Middle Eastern funds). OpenAI's competitor, startup Anthropic, is also reportedly raising up to $15 billion at an estimated valuation of around $350 billion.
Amid the excitement, a wave of new unicorns is proliferating: just in the last few months, dozens of companies worldwide have surpassed the $1 billion valuation mark. In the U.S., rapidly emerging "unicorn" status is being achieved by projects in generative video and voice AI (e.g., Higgsfield, Deepgram, etc.), while in Europe, large funding rounds in AI (for example, $350 million for German firm Parloa at a valuation of $3 billion) confirm the global nature of the AI boom. Investors' appetite for AI-related themes remains unquenched, although experts warn of overheating risks and inflated expectations. Notably, venture capitalists are now actively investing not only in applied AI products but also in the infrastructure for them—from high-performance chips and data centers to security and regulatory systems. This massive influx of capital accelerates industry progress but necessitates a close watch on the sustainability of business models to ensure that euphoria does not turn into a sharp cooling.
Climate Tech and Energy: Mega Deals on the Rise
Against the backdrop of the global transition to sustainable energy, large capital is also flowing into climate tech projects. In 2025, the total volume of specially created climate funds exceeded $100 billion (most of the funds were raised by European funds), reflecting unprecedented investor interest in "green" innovations. Private funding rounds of hundreds of millions of dollars in this area are becoming commonplace. For instance, American company TerraPower, which develops compact nuclear reactors, secured around $650 million to advance its technologies, while startup Helion Energy raised $425 million to create the first commercial nuclear fusion reactor. Earlier, in January, the climate project Base Power in the U.S. attracted $1 billion at a valuation of $3 billion to expand its energy storage battery network, making it one of the largest deals in climate tech history.
Venture funds are increasingly betting on solutions capable of accelerating the decarbonization of the economy and meeting rising energy demand. Significant investments are being directed into energy storage, new types of batteries and fuels, electric vehicle development, carbon capture technologies, and "climate fintech"—platforms for trading carbon credits and insuring against climate risks. Although historically, climate and energy projects have been considered risky for VCs due to long payback cycles, private and corporate investors are now willing to play the long game, anticipating significant returns from innovations in this field. Thus, sustainable technologies are securing their place among the top priorities of the venture market, gradually bringing the economic “green” transition closer.
Fintech Consolidation: Billion-Dollar Exits and a Wave of M&A
A new wave of consolidation is unfolding in the fintech sector, signaling the market's maturation. Major banks and investors are keen to integrate advanced fintech solutions: in January, American bank Capital One agreed to acquire startup Brex (a corporate expense management platform) for approximately $5.15 billion. This deal marked the largest fintech acquisition by a bank, underscoring traditional financial giants' desire to master innovations. In Europe, venture fund Hg purchased American financial platform OneStream for around $6.4 billion, acquiring shares from previous investors (including KKR). Additionally, Deutsche Börse announced the acquisition of investment platform Allfunds for €5.3 billion to strengthen its positions in the WealthTech sector, while US Bancorp is acquiring brokerage firm BTIG for about $1 billion.
Alongside acquisitions by corporate giants, fintech "unicorns" are also venturing into buying. For instance, Australian unicorn payment service Airwallex is expanding its presence in Asia by acquiring Korean company Paynuri. The increase in mergers and acquisitions indicates that as the industry matures, successful fintech companies either fall under the wing of larger players or grow through strategic acquisitions. For venture investors, this means new opportunities for profitable exits, while for the market as a whole, it suggests the consolidation of key players and the emergence of multi-product platforms based on acquired startups.
The IPO Market Comes Alive: Startups Go Public Again
After a prolonged hiatus, the global market for initial public offerings (IPOs) of technology companies is showing strong signs of revival. The year 2025 surpassed analysts' expectations in terms of prominent IPOs: in the U.S. alone, at least 23 companies went public with a capitalization exceeding $1 billion (for comparison, the previous year saw only nine such debuts), and the total valuation of these offerings exceeded $125 billion. Investors are eager once again to welcome profitable and rapidly growing companies to public markets, especially those with a strong history related to AI or other "hot" technologies. Successful IPOs of fintech giant Stripe and neobank Chime at the end of 2025 (where shares of Chime rose approximately 40% on the first day of trading) have restored confidence in the IPO pipeline.
In 2026, this trend is expected to continue: several large startups are openly hinting at preparing for public listing. Among the most anticipated IPO candidates are:
- Major fintech unicorns: payment platforms Plaid and Revolut;
- AI leaders: AI-model developer OpenAI, big data platform Databricks, and business AI startup Cohere;
- Other technology giants: for example, space company SpaceX (if market conditions are favorable).
Successful public offerings of these companies could provide an additional boost to the market, though experts caution that volatility might suddenly close the current "IPO window." Nevertheless, the renewed trend of startups going public strengthens the belief that investors are willing to reward companies with strong growth and profitability metrics, while venture funds are gaining coveted opportunities for large exits.
Defense, Space, and Cyber Startups in the Spotlight
Geopolitical tensions and emerging risks are reshaping venture investors' priorities. In the U.S., the trend of American Dynamism is gaining momentum—investments in technologies related to national security. A portion of the funds from the aforementioned mega funds (like a16z) is specifically directed toward defense and "deeptech" projects. Startups developing solutions for the military, space, and cybersecurity increasingly attract nine-digit sums. For instance, California-based company Onebrief, which creates software for military planning, recently secured around $200 million at a valuation exceeding $2 billion and even made a small acquisition to enhance its platform's capabilities. Concurrently, specialized players are rapidly emerging: the Belgian startup Aikido Security, offering a cybersecurity platform for code and cloud protection, reached “unicorn” status (valued at $1 billion) in less than two years of development.
These successes reflect the growing demand for technologies that ensure defense and cybersecurity. Investments are being directed toward everything—from supply chain protection (e.g., the British project Cyb3r Operations raised $5 million for monitoring cyber risks) to new satellite reconnaissance facilities. Support for defense and space startups is being bolstered not only by private funds but also by government programs in the U.S., Europe, Israel, and other countries seeking to gain a technological edge. Thus, dual-use technologies related to security have firmly established themselves in the focus of the venture market alongside commercial projects.
A Resurgence of Investments in Biotech and Digital Health
After several tough years of "biotech winter," signs of warming are emerging in the life sciences sector. Major deals at the end of 2025 restored investor confidence in biotech; for example, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to acquire Metsera (a developer of obesity treatments) for $10 billion, while AbbVie purchased ImmunoGen for approximately $10.1 billion—these M&A deals confirmed that the demand for promising drugs remains high. Against this backdrop, venture investors are once again ready to finance biotech startups with substantial funds. In early 2026, signs of renewed funding activity appeared: American startup Parabilis Medicines, developing innovative cancer treatments, raised about $305 million—one of the largest rounds for the sector in recent times. Rounds for medical technologies and digital health are also growing, especially at the intersection with artificial intelligence.
Market participants note that biotech and medtech segments are expected to gradually emerge from the crisis in 2026. Investors are diversifying their investments, paying attention not only to traditional areas (oncology, immunology) but also to new niches—genetic technologies, rare diseases, neurotechnologies, and medical AI solutions. An increase in M&A activity in biopharma is anticipated, as large pharmaceutical companies experience a "hunger" for new products as patent expirations loom. Although the IPO market for biotech has not fully recovered yet, significant late rounds and strategic deals provide the necessary capital for startups in this sector to advance their developments. Thus, biotechnology and healthcare are once again among the attractive areas for venture investments, promising investors significant growth potential provided that projects demonstrate scientific viability.
A Look Ahead: Cautious Optimism and Sustainable Growth
Despite the rapid rise in venture activity at the beginning of the year, investors maintain a degree of caution, recalling the lessons of the recent market cooldown. Capital is undoubtedly returning to the technology sector, but startup requirements have tightened: funds expect clear business models, economic efficiency, and understandable paths to profitability from teams. Company valuations are rising again (especially in the AI segment), but investors are increasingly focusing on risk diversification and the long-term sustainability of their portfolios. The return of liquidity—from billion-dollar venture funds to new IPOs—creates opportunities for significant growth but simultaneously heightens competition for exceptional projects.
There is a high likelihood that in 2026, the venture capital industry will transition into a phase of more balanced development. Funding for breakthrough areas (AI, climate tech, biotech, defense, etc.) will continue, but there will be a greater emphasis on quality growth, transparency in corporate governance, and regulatory compliance of startups. This more measured approach should help the market avoid overheating and lay the foundation for the sustainable development of innovations in the long term.
