Current News on Startups and Venture Investments as of January 26, 2026: The Return of Mega-Funds, Record Investments in AI, a New Wave of IPOs, Increased M&A Activity, Diversification of Investments, and Local Initiatives.
By the beginning of 2026, the global venture market is experiencing a new upsurge following a strong recovery last year. Investors around the world are once again actively funding technology startups—record deals are being concluded, and the prospects for companies going public are regaining attention. Major players in the industry are returning with significant investments, while governments and corporations are ramping up support for innovation. As a result, significant private capital is once again flowing into the startup ecosystem, setting a positive tone for the beginning of the year.
Venture activity is on the rise across all regions. The USA has solidified its leading position (especially due to investments in the artificial intelligence sector), while venture capital in the Middle East has doubled due to inflows from sovereign wealth funds. Europe is undergoing a reshuffling, with Germany surpassing the UK for the first time in terms of the number of deals. India, Southeast Asia, and Gulf countries are attracting record amounts of capital amidst a relative decline in activity in China. The startup ecosystems in Russia and other former Soviet countries are striving to keep pace with global trends despite external limitations. A global early-stage venture boom is forming, although investors remain selective and cautious.
Below is a list of key events and trends shaping the venture market agenda on January 26, 2026:
- Return of Mega-Funds and Large Investors. Leading venture firms are raising record capital for new funds, reintroducing liquidity into the market and reigniting the appetite for risk.
- Record Rounds in the AI Sector and New "Unicorns." Unprecedented deals are elevating startup valuations to unseen heights, particularly in the artificial intelligence segment.
- Resurgence in IPO Activity. Successful public offerings by several technology companies and new applications confirm that the long-awaited "window" for exits remains open.
- Wave of Consolidation and M&A Deals. Numerous large mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments are reshaping the industry landscape, creating opportunities for profitable exits and accelerated growth.
- Diversification of Sector Focus. Venture capital is being directed not only towards AI but also towards fintech, climate technologies and "green" energy, biotechnology, defense developments, and blockchain startups.
- Local Focus: Russia and the CIS. Despite external constraints, new funds and initiatives are emerging in the region to foster local startup ecosystems, gradually attracting investor interest.
The Return of Mega-Funds: Big Money Back on the Market
Major investment players are triumphantly re-entering the venture arena, signifying an increased appetite for risk within the industry. In recent weeks, several top funds have announced record sums raised for new investment strategies. For instance, the American Lightspeed Venture Partners raised about $9 billion across several funds, marking the largest venture capital fundraising round in 2025. Other mega-funds have also joined in: Dragoneer raised approximately $4.3 billion, Founders Fund secured $4.5 billion for a new growth fund, while giants like Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst closed their funds in 2024 at $7–8 billion. These large capital raises emphasize the gap between elite "heavyweights" in venture and the broader market, which has seen the overall number of new funds dwindle to a decade-low.
Sovereign funds from the Gulf countries are also ramping up activity, pouring billions into technology projects as they initiate government mega-programs to support startups and create their own tech hubs in the Middle East. Japan's SoftBank, having recovered from past losses, is returning to major bets—towards the end of 2025, it invested $40 billion in OpenAI (a record private deal in history) and is reportedly planning to finance a new wave of "super startups" in AI. All over the world, dozens of new venture funds are emerging (albeit fewer than before) that manage to attract substantial institutional capital for investments in high-tech fields.
In Silicon Valley, funds have accumulated unprecedented reserves of uninvested capital—"dry powder" amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, ready to be deployed as market confidence rebounds. The influx of "big money" is infusing the startup market with liquidity, providing resources for new funding rounds and supporting valuations of promising companies. The return of mega-funds and large institutional investors not only intensifies competition for the best deals but also strengthens industry confidence in further capital inflows.
Record Investments in AI and a New Wave of "Unicorns"
The field of artificial intelligence is the driving force behind the current venture upturn, demonstrating record levels of funding. Investors are eager to secure positions among AI race leaders, directing colossal amounts of capital toward the most promising projects. In 2025, several companies secured multi-billion dollar rounds: OpenAI attracted $40 billion at a valuation of about $300 billion (the largest venture round in history), Anthropic raised $13 billion (valuation of about $183 billion), and Elon Musk's startup xAI garnered around $10 billion. All these deals were significantly oversubscribed, underscoring the excitement surrounding AI companies.
Notably, venture investments are flowing not only into end AI applications but also into the infrastructure supporting them. For example, the new AI laboratory startup Humans& managed to secure approximately $480 million in seed funding—a record amount for a seed round—showing the market's readiness to support even newcomers founded by top industry experts. Another example is the American AI infrastructure developer Baseten, which raised $300 million at a valuation of around $5 billion with backing from investors like Nvidia, confirming substantial interest in the "shovels and pickaxes" of the new AI ecosystem. The current investment boom has given rise to a wave of new "unicorns"—startups valued over $1 billion. Although experts caution about the risk of overheating the market, investor appetite for AI startups remains robust.
IPO Market Awakens: Opportunity Window for Exits
The global primary public offering (IPO) market is emerging from its lull and is once again gaining momentum. In Asia, Hong Kong has initiated a new wave of IPOs: in recent months, several major technology companies have gone public, collectively raising billions in investments. For instance, the Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi successfully placed a secondary share issue, attracting approximately $4 billion, signaling local investors' readiness to return to IPO transactions. Another example is a major electric vehicle company that listed in Shanghai, raising around $3 billion.
In the USA and Europe, the situation is also improving: high-profile debuts by several "unicorns" occurred in 2024–2025. The American fintech giant Stripe, which delayed its listing for a long time, is preparing for an IPO in 2026 amidst the successful placements of its peers. In the cybersecurity sector, companies Rubrik and Netskope debuted on NASDAQ with valuations of $8–9 billion, experiencing significant stock price increases in the initial trading days, confirming investor demand. Even the design platform Figma, instead of opting for acquisition, chose the path of an independent IPO and raised more than $1 billion, after which its valuation steadily increased.
Even the crypto industry is trying to take advantage of the renewed activity: fintech company Circle successfully conducted an IPO last summer (its stock then soared), while crypto exchange Bullish applied for a listing in the USA with a target valuation of around $4 billion. The return of activity in the IPO market is crucial for the venture ecosystem: successful public exits allow funds to realize profits and redeploy the freed-up capital into new projects, facilitating a fresh cycle of investments.
Consolidation and M&A Deals: Scaling Up Players
Elevated startup valuations and intense market competition are driving the industry towards consolidation. Major mergers and acquisitions are once again taking center stage, significantly reshaping the technological landscape. The year 2025 became one of the record years for acquisition volume: the total value of global venture M&A deals approached historical highs, with the USA surpassing the levels of 2021. The climax was Google’s acquisition of Wiz (cybersecurity) for approximately $32 billion—the largest acquisition of a venture startup in history.
Moreover, there have been several multi-billion dollar exits across various sectors where major corporations are acquiring promising projects. Such deals include:
- The crypto exchange Deribit (Netherlands) acquired by Coinbase.
- The London fintech Hidden Road acquired by Ripple.
- The Oxford quantum startup Oxford Ionics purchased by the American firm IonQ.
- The Barcelona-based legal AI platform vLex joined the Canadian company Clio.
The activation of M&A provides venture funds with the opportunity to exit investments profitably, while startups gain resources for scaling under the wings of large partners. The consolidation of players through mergers and acquisitions accelerates the maturation of specific market segments and opens new niches for the next wave of startups.
Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI
In 2025, venture investments encompassed an increasingly broader range of sectors and were no longer limited to artificial intelligence alone. After previous years' downturns, fintech is reviving—large funding rounds took place not only in the USA but also in Europe and developing markets, fueling the growth of new financial services. Simultaneously, spurred by the global trend toward sustainability, there is a growing interest in climate technologies, "green" energy, and agritech—these areas are attracting record investments.
- Financial Technologies (Fintech): the return of significant investments in payment services, new-type banks, and various fintech startups globally.
- Climate and "Green" Technologies: record capital inflows into renewable energy, waste recycling, and environmentally friendly production projects.
- Biotechnology and Medtech: new drugs and digital medical services are again attracting capital, as the industry emerges from a period of declining valuations.
- Defense and Aerospace Developments: in light of increased security concerns, investors are backing startups in defense tech, as well as space projects and robotics.
- Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies: a partial recovery in trust towards the crypto market has enabled some blockchain startups to secure funding again.
Ultimately, the broadening of sector focus makes the startup ecosystem more resilient and reduces the risk of overheating in specific segments. Funds are distributing capital across various directions, aiming to create a balanced portfolio in the face of a new market upswing.
Russia and the CIS: Local Initiatives Amid Global Trends
Despite external challenges, there has recently been a revival of startup activity in Russia and neighboring countries. Announcements of new venture funds totaling approximately 10–12 billion rubles have been made, aimed at supporting early-stage technology projects. Local startups are beginning to attract significant capital: for example, the Krasnodar-based foodtech project Qummy recently secured around 440 million rubles in investments at an evaluation of approximately 2.4 billion rubles. Additionally, regulatory authorities have simplified rules for foreign investors from friendly countries, gradually reviving interest from overseas capital in local projects.
So far, the volume of venture investments in the region remains modest compared to global figures, but they are steadily increasing. Some larger companies are contemplating taking their technology divisions public should market conditions improve—VK Tech recently publicly acknowledged the possibility of an IPO in the foreseeable future. New government support measures and corporate initiatives aim to provide an additional boost to the local startup ecosystem and integrate it into global trends.
Cautious Optimism and Quality Growth
As of early 2026, the venture market demonstrates moderately optimistic sentiments: successful IPOs and major deals indicate that the downturn is behind, although investors continue to act selectively and prefer projects with sustainable business models. Substantial capital infusions into AI and other sectors inspire confidence, but funds are striving to diversify investments and monitor risks more closely to ensure that the new upswing does not turn into another overheating scenario. Thus, the industry enters another phase of development, emphasizing quality, balanced growth.
