High-value venture capital (VC) deals (≥$100 million) grew increasingly concentrated in just few markets during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, with the US accounting for around 60% and nearly 88% of all the global deal volume and value, respectively. The widening funding gap highlights how investors are prioritizing mature startup ecosystems and scalable business models amid an increasingly volatile environment, reveals GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database reveals that a total of 252 high-value VC deals of worth $253.2 billion were announced globally during Q1 2026. The US outpaced other countries by a significant margin with 145 deals worth $223.9 billion.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Q1 2026 underscores an increasingly concentrated high-value VC landscape where the US continues to command both investor attention and capital allocation at scale with the sheer volume and value placing the US far ahead of every other market. This underscores its continued role as the epicenter of VC activity whereas big investments also reflect both depth of capital pools and sustained investor willingness to back scalable themes.”
China ranked second by deal volume with 50 deals, raising $11.6 billion. While well behind the US in both volume and value, China remained the only other market with deal volume at meaningful scale, indicating continued support for startups despite a more selective funding environment.
The UK placed third with 12 deals totaling $5.4 billion, reinforcing its position as Europe’s most active VC hub. India followed with eight deals and around $2 billion in value, signaling ongoing momentum in its scale-up ecosystem.
France, Canada, Israel, Switzerland, Germany and Singapore were the other countries in the top 10 list by high-value VC deal value. How concentrated big investments remain within these top 10 markets can be understood from the fact that they collectively accounted for around 93% of the total number of high-value VC investments announced globally in Q1 2026 and 98% share in terms of value.
Bose concludes: “Going forward, this trend could intensify competitive pressure on emerging startup hubs to strengthen regulatory support, access to late-stage funding, and commercialization capabilities to attract global capital at scale. At the same time, sustained momentum in select Asian and European markets indicates that investors are still willing to back regional growth stories, provided they demonstrate resilience, scalability, and a clear path to profitability.”
Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain.
