Current Startup and Venture Capital News as of 7 February 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 show a resilient recovery following the downturns of recent years. Preliminary estimates suggest that 2025 was one of the most successful years for startup investments (only trailing the record-breaking years of 2021 and 2022), indicating a return of significant private capital to the technology sector. Investors worldwide are once again actively financing promising companies, with record-breaking deals being finalised and startups' plans for initial public offerings (IPOs) re-entering the agenda. Major venture capital funds are taking the stage with new mega-rounds and strategies, while governments and corporations are ramping up their support for innovation, striving not to lag in the global technology race. Consequently, as 2026 begins, the venture market exhibits positive dynamics, instilling cautious optimism—even though investors remain selective regarding project assessments and the viability of business models.
Geographically, the upturn is global in nature, albeit unevenly distributed. The primary driving force continues to be the United States, which accounts for a lion's share of major rounds (especially in the field of artificial intelligence). In Europe, venture investment is steadily increasing; in 2025, Germany surpassed the UK for the first time in attracted capital, reinforcing the positions of European tech hubs. In Asia, the dynamics are mixed: the Indian ecosystem has reached new maturity (with the first 'unicorns' of 2026 emerging in January and high-profile IPOs reappearing on local exchanges), while in China, activity remains restrained due to regulatory pressures and a redirection of resources toward domestic priorities. Conversely, the Middle East and North Africa are accelerating their pace: funds from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are pouring billions into tech companies both regionally and worldwide, financing fintech, cloud services, and AI startups. The startup ecosystems of Russia and neighbouring countries are also striving to keep pace, launching local funds and programmes, although their volumes remain considerably modest for now. Thus, the new venture upturn encompasses nearly all continents, creating a more balanced global innovation ecosystem.
Below are the key events and trends shaping the agenda for startups and venture investments as of 7 February 2026:
- The return of mega-funds and large investors. Leading venture firms are raising record-sized funds and ramping up investments, replenishing the market with capital and rekindling a risk appetite.
- Unprecedented AI mega-rounds and a new wave of 'unicorns'. Fantastically large investments in the artificial intelligence sector are elevating startup valuations to unprecedented heights and birthing dozens of new 'unicorn' companies.
- Climate technologies and energy are attracting mega deals. The sustainable energy and climate tech sector is taking centre stage, supported by multimillion and billion-dollar funding rounds worldwide.
- Consolidation in fintech: significant exits and a wave of M&A. Mature fintech players are becoming targets for billion-dollar acquisitions, while unicorns themselves are expanding through strategic acquisitions.
- Revitalisation of the IPO market. Initial public offerings of tech companies are back in focus: successful IPOs inspire new candidates to prepare for market entry.
- Focus on defence, space, and cybersecurity startups. Venture funds are reallocating capital to strategic sectors—from defence and space to cybersecurity—responding to geopolitical challenges.
- A renaissance in biotech and med-tech investments. After a protracted downturn, the biotech and digital health sectors are once again attracting significant capital, drawing on M&A successes and scientific breakthroughs.
The Return of Mega-Funds: Big Money Back on the Market
The venture market is experiencing a triumphant return of the largest investment players, indicating a renewed appetite for risk. Global funds are announcing unprecedented capital-raising rounds: American giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has 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 defence technologies and biotech. Japan is not lagging behind: SoftBank has launched its third Vision Fund, amounting to around $40 billion, while simultaneously bolstering its presence in the AI sector. At the end of 2025, SoftBank invested $22.5 billion in OpenAI, marking one of the largest one-time investments in the history of the startup industry. Other players are also actively filling their 'capital coffers': for instance, Lightspeed Venture Partners closed new funds exceeding $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, 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 the Middle East and government institutions worldwide are also pouring billions into tech projects, creating new mega-platforms for innovation funding. It is estimated that the total amount of available funds ('dry powder') at investors’ disposal already reaches hundreds of billions of dollars and is ready for deployment as confidence in the market strengthens. The return of large amounts of capital confirms investors' belief in the continued growth of the technology sector and their desire not to miss the next big technological breakthrough.
The AI Startup Boom: Mega-Rounds and New 'Unicorns'
The artificial intelligence sector is the main driver of the current venture upturn, setting historical records for deal volumes. Investors are eager to secure positions at the forefront of the AI revolution and are prepared to finance colossal rounds, supporting the leaders in the race. By early 2026, deals of unprecedented scale have been announced: for example, Waymo (the autonomous division of Alphabet) attracted around $16 billion in new funding at a valuation of $126 billion, making it one of the most valuable startups in history. Cerebras Systems, the AI chip developer, also closed a significant round of $1 billion in investments at a valuation of approximately $23 billion. Industry leader OpenAI is reportedly negotiating to secure up to $100 billion at a valuation of around $800 billion—such a scale of private funding has never been seen before (with participation from SoftBank, as well as corporations like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon, along with Middle Eastern funds). OpenAI's competitor, startup Anthropic, is also reportedly raising up to $15 billion at an estimated valuation of approximately $350 billion.
Riding the hype wave, new unicorns are multiplying: in recent months alone, dozens of companies worldwide have surpassed the $1 billion valuation mark. In the US, projects developing generative video and voice AI (Higgsfield, Deepgram, etc.) are achieving unicorn status at breakneck speed, while large rounds in AI in Europe (such as $350 million for German firm Parloa at a valuation of $3 billion) confirm the global nature of the AI boom. Investor appetite for AI themes shows no signs of abating, 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 supporting them—from high-performance chips and data centres to security systems and regulations. This mass influx of capital accelerates industry progress, but prompts the market to monitor the viability of business models closely to prevent euphoria from shifting suddenly to a sharp cooling.
Climate Technologies and Energy: Mega-Deals on the Rise
In light of the global shift toward sustainable energy, substantial capital has also flowed into climate technology projects. In 2025, the total amount of climate-focused funds exceeded $100 billion (with a significant portion raised by funds in Europe), reflecting unprecedented investor interest in 'green' innovations. Private funding rounds of hundreds of millions of dollars in this sector are already becoming commonplace. For instance, American company TerraPower, which is developing compact nuclear reactors, secured approximately $650 million to advance its technologies, while startup Helion Energy attracted $425 million to create the first commercial fusion reactor. Earlier, in January, climate project Base Power in the US raised $1 billion at a valuation of $3 billion to expand its energy storage network, becoming one of the largest deals in climate tech history.
Venture funds are increasingly placing their bets on solutions capable of accelerating the decarbonisation of the economy and meeting the rising demand for energy. Large investments are directed towards energy storage, new types of batteries and fuels, electric vehicle development, carbon capture technologies, and 'climate fintech'—platforms for trading carbon credits and insuring climate risks. Although historically climate and energy projects were viewed as risky for VCs due to lengthy payback cycles, private and corporate investors are now willing to play the long game, anticipating substantial returns from innovations in this area. Thus, sustainable technologies are solidifying their position among the priorities of the venture market, progressively moving towards the 'green' transition of the economy.
Fintech Consolidation: Billion-Dollar Exits and a Wave of M&A
A new wave of consolidation is unfolding in the fintech sector, signalling the maturation of the fintech market. Major banks and investors are eager 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, highlighting the intentions of traditional financial giants to embrace innovation. In Europe, venture fund Hg acquired the American financial platform OneStream for around $6.4 billion, purchasing stakes from previous investors (including KKR). Additionally, Deutsche Börse announced the acquisition of investment platform Allfunds for €5.3 billion to strengthen its position in WealthTech, while US Bancorp is acquiring brokerage firm BTIG for about $1 billion.
Alongside acquisitions by corporate heavyweights, fintech unicorns are also making their own purchases. For instance, Australian payment service unicorn Airwallex is expanding its presence in Asia by acquiring Korean company Paynuri. The uptick in mergers and acquisitions indicates that as the industry matures, successful fintech firms are either falling under the umbrella of larger players or growing through strategic acquisitions. For venture investors, this signifies new opportunities for lucrative exits, while the market as a whole will see key players consolidate and the emergence of multi-product platforms based on acquired startups.
IPO Market Revitalisation: Startups Return to the Public Eye
Following a prolonged hiatus, the global market for initial public offerings of technology companies is showing encouraging signs of revival. The year 2025 exceeded analysts’ expectations regarding the number of high-profile IPOs: in the US alone, at least 23 companies went public with valuations exceeding $1 billion (for comparison, there were only 9 such debuts the previous year), and the total valuation of these offerings surpassed $125 billion. Investors are once again keen to welcome profitable and fast-growing companies to public markets, particularly those with a strong narrative linked to AI or other 'hot' technologies. By the end of 2025, successful debuts from fintech giant Stripe and neobank Chime had restored confidence in the IPO window (Chime's shares surged ~40% on the first day of trading).
In 2026, this trend is expected to continue: several large startups are openly hinting at preparation for stock offerings. Among the most anticipated IPO candidates are:
- Major fintech unicorns: payment platforms Plaid and Revolut;
- Leaders in artificial intelligence: AI model developer OpenAI, big data platform Databricks, and business-focused AI startup Cohere;
- Other tech giants: such as space company SpaceX (if market conditions are favourable).
Successful public offerings from these companies could provide an additional boost to the market, although experts caution that volatility could suddenly close off the current 'IPO window'. Nevertheless, the resumption of startups entering the public markets strengthens the belief that investors are ready to reward companies with strong growth and profitability metrics, providing venture funds with long-awaited opportunities for substantial exits.
Defence, Space, and Cyber Startups in the Spotlight
Geopolitical tensions and new risk types are reshaping the priorities of venture investors. In the US, the trend of American Dynamism is gaining momentum—investments in technologies related to national security. Part of the capital mentioned in mega-funds (such as a16z) is being directed specifically towards defence and deeptech projects. Startups developing solutions for the military, space, and cybersecurity are increasingly attracting nine-digit sums. For example, California-based company Onebrief, which creates military planning software, recently raised around $200 million at a valuation exceeding $2 billion and even made a small acquisition to expand its platform's capabilities. Concurrently, specialised players are growing rapidly: Belgian startup Aikido Security, which offers a cloud and code cybersecurity platform, has achieved 'unicorn' status (valuation $1 billion) in less than two years of operation.
Such successes reflect a growing demand for technologies that ensure defence and cybersecurity. Investments are directed toward everything from supply chain protection (for instance, British project Cyb3r Operations raised $5 million for monitoring cyber risks) to new satellite reconnaissance tools. Moreover, support for defence and space startups is being bolstered not only by private funds but also by government programmes in the US, Europe, Israel, and other countries aiming to gain technological advantages. Therefore, 'dual-use' technologies associated with security have firmly established themselves as a focus of the venture market alongside commercial projects.
A Renaissance in Biotech and Digital Health Investments
After several difficult years of 'biotech winter', signs of warming are appearing in the life sciences sector. Major deals at the end of 2025 restored investor confidence in biotech: for example, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer agreed to buy Metsera (a developer of obesity treatments) for $10 billion, while AbbVie acquired ImmunoGen for approximately $10.1 billion—these M&A deals confirmed that demand for promising treatments remains high. Against this backdrop, venture investors are once again ready to finance biotech startups with substantial amounts. At the beginning of 2026, signs of a financing revival emerged: American startup Parabilis Medicines, which is developing innovative oncology drugs, attracted around $305 million in investments—one of the largest rounds for the sector in recent times. Rounds for medical technologies and digital health, especially at the intersection of AI, are also growing in size.
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. A surge in mergers and acquisitions in biopharma is anticipated, as large pharma companies experience a 'hunger' for new products in light of expiring patents. Although the IPO market for biotech has not yet fully recovered, significant late-stage rounds and strategic deals are providing startups in this area with the necessary capital to advance their developments. Thus, biotechnology and healthcare are once again becoming attractive areas for venture investments, promising investors substantial growth potential provided the projects demonstrate scientific viability.
Looking Ahead: Cautious Optimism and Sustainable Growth
Despite the rapid rise in venture activity at the beginning of the year, investors remain judicious, mindful of the lessons from the recent market cooling. Capital is indeed returning to the technology sector, yet demands on startups have tightened: funds expect clear business models, economic viability, and transparent paths to profitability from teams. While company valuations are rising again (especially in the AI segment), investors are increasingly focusing on risk diversification and the long-term sustainability of their portfolios. The renewed liquidity—from billion-dollar venture funds to new IPOs—creates opportunities for significant growth while simultaneously intensifying competition for outstanding projects.
There is a high likelihood that in 2026, the venture capital industry will transition into a phase of more balanced development. Financing for 'breakthrough' sectors (AI, climate technologies, biotech, defence, etc.) will continue, but there will be a greater emphasis on the quality of growth, transparency in corporate governance, 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.
