Startup and Venture Investment News for Monday, February 9, 2026: Major Rounds, Venture Fund Activity, Growth of AI Startups, Fintech and Biotech, Key Trends in the Global Venture Market.
By early February 2026, the global venture capital market is confidently recovering from the downturn of recent years. Preliminary estimates suggest that 2025 was almost a record year for startup investments, slightly trailing the peak years of 2021-2022. Private capital is once again flowing en masse into the tech sector: investors worldwide are actively funding promising companies, with unprecedented scale deals occurring, and startups' plans to go public are back in the spotlight. The largest players in the venture industry are launching new giant funds and investment programs, while governments and corporations are enhancing their support for innovation. As a result, at the start of 2026, the venture market demonstrates positive dynamics, instilling cautious optimism—though investors remain selective when evaluating projects and their business models.
The rise in venture activity is global in nature, although it is unevenly distributed. The United States remains a driving force—with American startups accounting for the lion's share of large rounds, especially in the field of artificial intelligence. In Europe, investment levels continue to rise: by the end of 2025, Germany surpassed the UK for the first time in a decade in total venture capital raised, 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 emerging in January and high-profile local IPOs resuming), while in China, venture activity remains subdued due to regulatory restrictions and a shift in focus to domestic priorities. Meanwhile, the Middle East is witnessing acceleration: funds from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are pouring billions into tech companies—both in their region and globally—betting on fintech, cloud services, and AI. The startup ecosystems in Russia and neighboring countries are also striving to keep pace, launching local funds and support programs, although the volumes of venture investments there remain significantly smaller. Thus, the new venture boom has a truly global scope, encompassing most regions.
Here are the key trends shaping the venture market agenda for February 9, 2026:
- Return of megafunds and large investors. Leading venture firms are raising record-sized funds and significantly increasing investments, once again saturating the market with capital and rekindling risk appetite.
- Record AI megaraounds and a new wave of unicorns. Historically large investments in the field of artificial intelligence are driving startup valuations to unprecedented heights, creating dozens of new unicorn companies with billion-dollar valuations.
- Climate tech and energy attract megadeals. The sustainable energy and climate tech sector is coming to the forefront, with multimillion and even billion-dollar funding rounds occurring globally.
- Consolidation in fintech and a wave of M&A. Mature fintech players are becoming targets for multibillion-dollar acquisitions, while some unicorns are expanding through strategic purchases.
- Revival of the IPO market. Initial public offerings of tech companies are back in the spotlight: successful IPOs are inspiring new candidates to prepare for going public, confirming the opening of the long-awaited "window" for exits.
- Focus on defense, space, and cybersecurity startups. Venture funds are reallocating capital into strategic sectors—from defense and space to cybersecurity—in response to new geopolitical challenges.
- Revival of investments in biotech and digital health. After a prolonged downturn, the biotech and med-tech sectors are once again attracting significant capital, relying on successful deals and scientific breakthroughs from recent months.
Return of Megafunds: Big Money Back on the Market
The venture market is triumphantly welcoming back the largest investment players, signaling a renewed appetite for risk. Global funds are announcing unprecedented capital-raising rounds. For instance, American firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) raised over $15 billion across several new funds, bringing its total assets under management to record highs. Japan is not lagging: SoftBank launched its third Vision Fund, amounting to around $40 billion, while also strengthening its presence in the AI sector (at the end of 2025, SoftBank invested $22.5 billion in OpenAI—one of the largest single investments in startup history). Other major players have also bolstered their “war chests”; for example, Lightspeed Venture Partners closed new funds totaling over $9 billion (the largest in the firm's 25-year history), while Tiger Global, recovering from recent losses, returned to the market with a $2.2 billion fund, reaffirming its ambitions.
The influx of such "big capital" fills the market with liquidity and intensifies competition for the most promising deals. Sovereign funds from Gulf countries and government institutions worldwide are also pouring billions into tech projects, forming new mega-platforms for financing innovation. It is estimated that the total amount of dry powder available to investors is now in the hundreds of billions of dollars, ready to be deployed as confidence strengthens in the market. The return of such impressive sums reaffirms the investing community's faith in the continued growth of the tech sector and the desire not to miss the next big technological breakthrough.
AI Startup Boom: Megarounds and New Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the main driver of the current venture boom, showcasing record funding volumes. Investors are eager to stake their claim in the vanguard of the AI revolution and are willing to invest colossal amounts in race leaders. In the early weeks of 2026, previously unseen large-scale transactions have already been announced. For example, Waymo (Alphabet’s autonomous division) attracted around $16 billion in new capital at an estimated valuation of approximately $126 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in history. Elon Musk's startup xAI secured about $20 billion in investments with strategic participation from Nvidia—a phenomenal amount of funding for a private technology company. Industry leader OpenAI is reportedly in negotiations to raise up to $100 billion at an estimated valuation of around $800 billion—such a massive private round has never been seen before (participants in the discussions include SoftBank, as well as corporations like Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, and various Middle Eastern funds). OpenAI's competitor Anthropic is also reportedly aiming to attract up to $15 billion at an estimated valuation of around $350 billion.
Riding the wave of excitement, new unicorns are rapidly multiplying: just in recent months, dozens of companies worldwide have surpassed the $1 billion valuation mark. In the U.S., the status of “unicorn” is rapidly being achieved by generative AI projects—ranging from video services to voice assistants. For example, companies Higgsfield and Deepgram have reached unicorn status in less than two years, thanks to breakthroughs in generative video and speech. Europe is also witnessing large AI rounds (for instance, the German platform Parloa raised around $350 million at a valuation of ~$3 billion), further confirming the global nature of the AI boom. The appetite for AI investments among investors shows no signs of waning, although experts caution against the risks of overheating and inflated expectations. Notably, venture capitalists are now actively investing not just in applied AI products but also in the infrastructure that supports them—from powerful chips and data centers to security and monitoring systems. This massive influx of capital accelerates progress in the industry but also compels market participants to closely monitor the viability of business models to ensure that the current euphoria does not give way to a sharp cooling.
Climate Technologies and Energy: Megadeals on the Rise
Against the backdrop of a global shift toward sustainable energy, significant capital is also flowing into climate tech. In 2025, the total amount of funds raised by specialized climate venture funds exceeded $100 billion (most of this capital was accumulated by funds in Europe), indicating an unprecedented interest from investors in “green” innovations. Large private funding rounds in this sector have ceased to be rare, with hundreds of millions of dollars being allocated. For instance, the American startup TerraPower, which develops compact nuclear reactors, received around $650 million, while Helion Energy secured $425 million to create the first commercial fusion reactor. Additionally, in January, the Austin-based project Base Power, which develops home battery networks and “virtual power plants,” raised approximately $1 billion in a Series C round at a valuation of ~$3 billion, making it one of the largest deals in climate tech history.
Venture funds are increasingly betting on solutions that can accelerate the decarbonization of the economy and meet the growing global demand for energy. Significant investments are being directed toward energy storage, new types of batteries and fuels, the development of electric mobility, carbon capture technologies, as well as “climate fintech”—platforms for trading carbon credits and insuring climate risks. While climate and energy projects were previously deemed too risky for VCs (due to long payback periods), both private and corporate investors are now willing to play the long game, expecting significant returns from innovations in this area. Sustainable technologies are establishing themselves as a priority within the venture market, gradually advancing the "green" transition of the global economy.
Consolidation and M&A: Consolidation of Players
A new wave of consolidation is unfolding in the fintech sector, signaling the maturation of the fintech market. Major banks and investors are eager to integrate cutting-edge fintech solutions, resulting in several high-profile deals being announced in January 2026:
- Capital One has agreed to acquire fintech startup Brex (a platform for managing corporate expenses) for approximately $5.15 billion. This acquisition represents the largest “bank-fintech” acquisition in history, underscoring traditional financial giants' quest for innovation.
- European fund Hg Capital is purchasing American financial platform OneStream for about $6.4 billion, acquiring stakes from previous investors (including KKR).
- Exchange operator Deutsche Börse has announced the purchase of investment platform Allfunds for €5.3 billion to strengthen its position in WealthTech.
- American bank US Bancorp is acquiring brokerage firm BTIG for about $1 billion, expanding its presence in the investment services market.
- Beyond acquisitions by corporations, fintech unicorns themselves are taking the buying path. For instance, Australian payment service Airwallex, which holds unicorn status, is strengthening its business in Asia by acquiring Korean fintech company Paynuri (the deal's amount has not been disclosed).
Moreover, consolidation extends beyond just fintech; tech giants are also ready to spend tens of billions to keep pace in the race. For example, Google is pushing forward with a record deal to acquire Israeli cloud cybersecurity startup Wiz for about $32 billion—one of the largest startup acquisitions in history. This surge in M&A activity indicates that as the industry matures, successful startups either fall under the wing of larger players or expand their influence through strategic acquisitions. For venture investors, this trend signals new opportunities for profitable exits, and for the market as a whole, it suggests the consolidation of key players and the emergence of multi-product platforms based on acquired projects.
The IPO Market Comes Alive Again: Startups Returning to the Stock Market
After a prolonged pause, the global market for initial public offerings of tech companies is confidently reviving. The year 2025 exceeded analysts' expectations in terms of the number of high-profile IPOs: in the U.S. alone, no less than 23 companies with a valuation exceeding $1 billion went public (for comparison, there were only 9 such debuts the previous year), and the total market capitalization of these listings surpassed $125 billion. Investors are once again ready to welcome profitable and fast-growing companies on the public market, especially those with a strong narrative related to AI or other “hot” technologies. At the end of 2025, successful debuts from fintech giant Stripe and neobank Chime (whose shares rose approximately 40% on the first day of trading) renewed confidence and effectively opened a new "window of opportunity" for IPOs.
In 2026, this trend is expected to continue: several large startups are already hinting at preparations for going public. Among the most anticipated candidates for IPO are:
- Major fintech unicorns: payment platforms Plaid and Revolut;
- Leaders in AI: AI model developer OpenAI, big data platform Databricks, and corporate AI startup Cohere;
- Other tech giants, such as space company SpaceX (if market conditions are favorable).
Successful public exits for these companies could provide additional momentum to the market, although experts remind that volatility could abruptly close the current "IPO window." Nevertheless, the revival of startups in the stock market reinforces the belief that investors are ready to reward companies with strong growth and profitability metrics, while venture funds gain the long-awaited opportunities for substantial exits.
Defense, Space, and Cyber Startups in the Spotlight
Geopolitical tension and new risks are shifting venture investors' priorities. In the U.S., the trend of American Dynamism is gaining traction—investments in technologies related to national security. Notably, part of the funds from the aforementioned new megafunds (such as a16z) is being directed specifically toward defense and deeptech projects. Startups developing solutions for the military, space, and cybersecurity are increasingly attracting nine-figure sums. For instance, Californian company Onebrief, which creates military planning software, recently secured approximately $200 million in investments at a valuation exceeding $2 billion and even made an acquisition of a small specialized startup to enhance its platform capabilities. Concurrently, specialized players are gaining weight: for example, Belgian startup Aikido Security, offering a cybersecurity platform for code and cloud services, achieved a unicorn valuation (~$1 billion) in less than two years of operations.
These successes reflect the growing market demand for technologies that ensure defense and cybersecurity. Investments are being funneled into everything—from supply chain protection (for instance, the British project Cyb3r Operations raised ~$5 million for monitoring cyber risks) to cutting-edge satellite reconnaissance capabilities. Moreover, support for defense and space startups is being strengthened not only by private funds but also by government programs in the U.S., Europe, Israel, and several other countries seeking to gain a technological edge. Thus, dual-use technologies related to security have firmly established themselves as a focus within the venture market alongside traditional commercial projects.
Revival of Investments in Biotech and Digital Health
After several tough years of "biotech winter" in the Life Sciences sector, a thaw is finally emerging. Major deals in late 2025 returned investor confidence in biotech: pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to acquire Metsera (a developer of obesity drugs) for about $10 billion, while AbbVie announced the acquisition of oncology drug developer ImmunoGen for ~$10.1 billion. These acquisitions confirmed that demand for promising drugs remains high. Against this backdrop, venture investors are once again ready to finance biotech startups with substantial amounts. In early 2026, signs of revitalized funding emerged: American startup Parabilis Medicines, developing innovative oncology therapies, raised around $305 million—one of the largest rounds for the industry in recent times.
Market experts note that in 2026, the Biotech/MedTech segment may gradually emerge from its crisis. Investors are diversifying their investments, looking beyond traditional areas (oncology, immunology) to new niches—gene engineering, therapies for rare diseases, neurotechnologies, and medical AI solutions. An increase in mergers and acquisitions in biopharma is anticipated, as major pharmaceutical companies experience a "hunger" for new products ahead of patent expirations. While the IPO market for biotech has yet to fully recover, large late rounds and strategic deals are providing startups in this sector with the essential capital for advancing their developments. Thus, biotechnology and healthcare are set to regain their status as attractive sectors for venture investment, promising significant growth potential for investors—provided the projects are scientifically sound.
Looking Ahead: Cautious Optimism and Sustainable Growth
Despite the rapid uptick in venture activity at the beginning of the year, investors are maintaining a degree of caution, recalling the lessons from the recent market cooling. Capital is truly flowing back into the technology sector; however, expectations for startups have tightened noticeably: funds now require clear business models, economic viability, and defined paths to profitability from teams. Company valuations are on the rise again (especially in the AI segment), but investors are increasingly focusing on diversification of risks and long-term sustainability of their portfolios. The return of liquidity—from billion-dollar venture funds to new IPOs—creates opportunities for massive growth, but also heightens competition for outstanding projects.
It is highly likely 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 growth quality, transparency in management, and compliance of startups with regulatory requirements. This more measured approach should help the market avoid overheating and lay the groundwork for sustainable innovation development in the long term.
