Startup and Venture Capital News — Sunday, February 15, 2026: AI Mega Rounds, M&A, and Fintech

Main Startup and Venture Capital News as of February 15, 2026: Major Rounds in AI and Deep Tech, M&A Deals, Fintech and Biotech Dynamics, Investment Funds' Focus on Profitability and Growth Efficiency.

Sunday news feeds are traditionally thinner: fewer new announcements, more follow-up publications and clarifications of the terms of previously announced deals. Therefore, this review captures what remains relevant and discussed in the global market as of February 15, 2026: confirmed rounds, M&A deals, and public plans of companies that shape investor expectations for the new week in New York, San Francisco, London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Middle East.

Key Deals and Record Rounds: Where Venture Investment is Concentrated

The key signal of the week is the scale of rounds in AI and the surrounding AI economy (data, chips, robotics, defense). The market is once again accepting "mega-checks" as the norm for leaders, while for most startups in seed and Series A, the terms become more demanding: tighter metrics, higher benchmarks for the product, and greater attention to the structure of the round and investor protections.

• Record Round in AI: $30 billion raised at a valuation of $380 billion (post-money). This is one of the largest private rounds in history and indicates that the "pricing of leaders" operates under different rules.
• Data Infrastructure: $5 billion in new capital at a valuation of $134 billion plus an expansion of debt capacity — an example of how "data-for-AI" platforms are positioned as beneficiaries rather than victims of AI disruption.
• Chips and Computing: $1 billion in late-stage funding at a valuation of about $23 billion confirms that investors are willing to fund alternatives to dominant accelerator suppliers.
• Defense AI Outline: a potential round of up to $8 billion is being discussed (not yet confirmed by the company) at a valuation of no less than $60 billion — a sign of "sovereign demand" for autonomous systems and drones.
• Robotics as the New Showcase of AI: a Series A extension of $520 million at a valuation of around $5 billion shows that the market is interested in the "materialization" of AI in physical labor and logistics.

A key takeaway for investors: in 2026, the distribution of venture capital is becoming a "barbell model" — at one end, record rounds and valuations of the largest players, at the other — targeted seed and Series A, where success depends on the speed of revenue generation, the quality of the team, and the ability to scale quickly across multiple regions.

Table of Key Deals for Quick Reference

Below is a table (HTML) summarizing the deals that are shaping the agenda as of February 15, 2026. For some rows, valuation parameters or the exact type of round are not publicly disclosed as of February 15, 2026.

AI Startups: Leadership of Models, Focus on Data, and the "Physical World"

If in 2024–2025 the market debated who would become the "platform," at the beginning of 2026, it votes with money for vertical concentration. AI leaders are receiving the largest rounds because investors see in them a rare combination: scalable revenue, strategic significance, and the ability to set standards for corporate clients. Meanwhile, the second tier of AI startups gets a chance not in direct competition with the "frontier," but at the "intersections" — robotics, specialized chips, data, and application products.

What Investors are Buying in AI Today

• Dominance in Corporate Implementation: products that become part of companies' everyday processes (and thus protect against churn).
• Infrastructure as an "AI Tax": data and computing consumed in ever-increasing volumes as the number of agent scenarios grows.
• Integration of AI into Physical Chains: robots and autonomous systems, where value is measured not by benchmarks but by labor savings and increased throughput.

Fintech: AI Lending, Payments in Asia, and Stablecoin Expansion

The fintech agenda as of February 15, 2026 shows two trajectories. The first — "banking AI" in lending and compliance: startups are securing capital to accelerate solutions that help banks cope with staffing shortages and rising workloads. The second — international payments and hybrid funding models: instead of diluting their share through a large equity round, some companies are increasingly choosing debt or combined structures.

Market Signals in Fintech

1. Lending: the demand for AI tools is growing among regional and community banks, where the speed of loan decision-making directly impacts competitiveness.
2. Payments: payment platforms in Hong Kong and broader across APAC are using debt financing as a bridge to geographic expansion (Singapore, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, etc.).
3. Latin America: stablecoin infrastructure and cross-border accounts are becoming a noticeable investment case, supporting the export of fintech products to the US market.

For seed and Series A rounds in fintech, this means that "multi-functional super apps" will not prevail, but rather niche solutions with a clear ROI and a transparent regulatory logic by region.

Exits and M&A: Liquidity Shifts Toward Strategic Deals

The exit market as of February 15, 2026, remains fragmented: a full "IPO window" opens sporadically, meaning the burden of liquidity falls on M&A and corporate purchases. The most notable deals demonstrate that strategists are willing to pay for AI assets and data when they see direct synergy with existing products, distribution channels, and customer bases.

• Mega M&A in AI: a deal has been announced for the merger of a space business and AI assets with a record stated valuation of the combined structure; for investors, this signals that "ecosystem mergers" have become a new form of exit.
• Vertical AI in Corporations: the acquisition of an AI platform for deal data by a major supplier of professional software shows that strategists prefer to "buy acceleration" rather than build it from scratch.
• European Consolidation: deals around AI cloud and infrastructure for agent scenarios underscore that Europe and the UK are seeking to fill "gaps" in their stack through acquisitions and partnerships.
• Fintech M&A: acquisitions in loyalty, embedded finance, and payment infrastructure support the thesis that financial services are moving into the "invisible layer" of digital products.

Notably, even where capital markets are reviving (for example, in India), IPO stories appear more "fundamental" — with cautious investor reactions to valuations and growth quality.

Trends in Venture Investment: Geography, Mega Funds, and LP/GP Behavior

The structure of venture investment markets at the beginning of 2026 is shaped by three forces. First — geopolitics and defense, increasing interest in European and American projects at the intersection of AI, autonomous systems, and security. Second — the "legacy of excess funds": a significant portion of dry powder is concentrated in funds of a certain age, complicating the restructuring of mandates and investment rates. Third — the convergence of venture and private equity: large checks, hybrid rounds, and debt have become common tools rather than exceptions.

For LPs, this enhances the value of discipline: fewer bets on "middle-class" funds, more on managers who either have access to top rounds or know how to win at early stages through industry expertise and geographical focus (Europe/USA/MENA/APAC). For GPs, this is a requirement to explain not only the thesis but also the exit mechanism: M&A pathways, secondary market stakes, or a narrow "IPO window" where the quality of preparation is more important than timing.

Practical Recommendations for the Coming Week

Below are recommendations tailored for global investors and startup teams based on the agenda of February 15, 2026, and the current market regime.

For Investors

1. Calibrate valuations by segments: don’t transfer the multiples of "frontier AI" to applied startups; for seed and Series A, focus on proven economics and implementation speed.
2. Strengthen work on round structure: in volatile conditions, pre-emptively include secondary liquidity options, protections against down rounds, and clear control triggers.
3. View geography as a risk factor: for fintech and defense cases, consider regulatory and contractual cycles by region (USA, EU, MENA, APAC).

For Startups

• Formulate the "AI angle" without hype: investors expect not slogans, but concrete differentiation and a pathway to commercialization.
• Prepare for Series A in advance: prove repeatability in sales, funnel quality, and unit economics; a round in 2026 is an exam on growth manageability.
• Maintain flexibility on capital: consider combinations of equity/debt/strategic partnerships, especially in fintech and payments.

Quarterly Forecast: Scenarios for Valuations, Exits, and Fund Activity

For the upcoming quarter (end of Q1 – early Q2 2026), the baseline scenario is a continuation of capital concentration. Mega rounds in AI will remain possible for a limited number of leaders, supporting high "showcase" valuations, while most segments will operate under a logic of selectivity and stringent selection. The exit market will likely continue shifting toward M&A: strategists and platforms will buy data, talent, and vertical AI teams to accelerate product cycles.

The optimistic scenario will require two conditions: (1) more stable dynamics in public markets so that private valuations appear justified, and (2) the emergence of new "category winners" in fintech — where AI reduces operational costs and enhances risk control. The negative scenario is related to the possibility that rapid AI progress may continue to pressure classical software and some fintech models, forcing the market to reassess valuations and shift focus from growth rates to quality of margins and customer retention.

Conclusion: As of February 15, 2026, the market appears to be "two-speed": ultra-large rounds in AI stand beside a more pragmatic regime for seed and Series A. For investors, the key is not to miss the shift in power dynamics between "platform winners" and applied players that are capturing market share in specific verticals.