Venture capital (VC) funding activity in the US witnessed a sharp increase in value in early 2026, even as the number of deals edged down slightly. The total number of VC deals announced in the US declined by around 2% in January-February 2026 compared to the same period in the previous year, while the corresponding deals value jumped more than eightfold to $208 billion, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “A key inflection point for market sentiment is the speed at which the funding crossed the $200 billion threshold. It took 11 months for US VC funding value to reach that level in 2025. This trend underscores how quickly capital is now being deployed into select, high-conviction themes.”
A defining driver of this value surge was OpenAI’s $110 billion fundraising announced in February 2026, which significantly shaped the overall funding trajectory. This single deal accounted for around 53% of total US VC funding value in January–February 2026 and around 46% of global VC funding value over the same period.
Bose adds: “The magnitude of this funding round demonstrates how a small number of outsized transactions can meaningfully influence aggregate funding outcomes, particularly when investors concentrate capital in fewer, perceived category-leading companies.”
The US continued to remain the top market for VC funding activity globally and the massive jump in value has further strengthened its global dominance.
An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database revealed that the US accounted for 28% of the total number of VC deals announced globally during January-February 2026. Meanwhile, its share of global value stood at 87%, up from 58% during the same period a year earlier.
Bose concludes: “The jump in global share highlights the extent to which the early-2026 surge was concentrated in the US, reinforcing its position as the central engine of global VC value and underscoring that mega-deals, particularly in AI, are shaping the pace and direction of the venture funding landscape.”
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
