PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor

The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, produced by NVCA and PitchBook, is the authoritative quarterly report on venture capital activity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

What’s new: The second quarter reinforced the venture market’s recovery. Investment and fundraising remained strong, while improving IPO and M&A activity offered encouraging signs that liquidity is beginning to return. AI continued to drive much of the market’s momentum, though investment and fundraising remained concentrated among a relatively small number of companies and funds.

Through the first half of 2026, venture capital reached record investment levels, but the recovery remains uneven. Broader improvements in the exit environment will be essential to restoring liquidity and supporting startups and investors across the innovation economy.

Q2 2026 set new highs for both venture dealmaking and exits. However, a deeper dive into the data reveals a more complicated story.

  • US startups raised more than $400 billion in the first half of 2026, surpassing every previous full-year investment total on record and already exceeding all of 2025.
  • AI and mega-rounds continued to reshape the market, with the overwhelming majority of invested capital flowing to AI companies and financings of $100 million or more.
  • Fundraising rebounded sharply, with venture firms raising nearly as much capital through June as during all of 2025, though commitments remained concentrated among a small group of established managers.
  • Exit activity improved during Q2, as IPOs and M&A accelerated, providing encouraging signs that liquidity conditions may finally be strengthening.
  • The recovery remains uneven. Strong headline numbers continue to mask significant concentration across investment, fundraising, and exits, underscoring the importance of a broader reopening of the capital markets to support startups and venture funds across the ecosystem.

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Special thanks to NVCA’s official data provider, PitchBook.