Global venture funding surged to $463.17 billion in H1 2026, a 117% increase from $213.64 billion in H1 2025, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence, though the number of deals fell 6% year over year to 7,874 transactions from 8,378. AI companies, including OpenAI, xAI, and Project Prometheus, drove the largest transactions. Project Prometheus raised $12 billion in June, accounting for 27.7% of total deal value, with backing from BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Arch Venture Partners, DST Global, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. June venture funding values rose 48% year over year to $43.26 billion, while transaction volume declined 15% to 1,238 deals. Additional billion-dollar financings included BaseTen Labs’ $1.5 billion raise and Neura Robotics’ $1.4 billion funding round. The technology, media and telecommunications sector accounted for 395 deals in June, or roughly 32% of total transactions, a 32.7% decline from 587 deals in June 2025. Non-AI startups faced a more challenging fundraising landscape as investors concentrated capital into fewer, larger financings.