In the first half of 2026, investors poured $407bn into artificial intelligence businesses, overtaking the $264.1bn raised throughout 2025, according to a Pitchbook AI report published in August 2026. AI companies raised $144.4bn in the second quarter, the second-strongest quarter since records began in 2016, but well below the $262.7bn invested in the opening three months of 2026. Investors completed 1,538 transactions in Q2, a fall of 21.6% from the previous quarter. Horizontal platforms, including foundational AI model developers, attracted $288.1bn in the first half, representing 70.8% of all capital invested. Vertical applications accounted for $52.6bn, or 12.9% of investment, despite generating 62.9% of transactions. Anthropic secured the quarter’s largest round with a $65bn Series H, lifting its post-money valuation to $965bn, more than five times the $12bn raised by robotics company Prometheus. Defence technology group Anduril Industries followed with a $5bn round, taking its valuation to $61bn. The median pre-money valuation for venture-growth companies reached $953.8m in the first half, up 204% from 2025, while pre-seed and seed valuations increased by 17%. AI exit activity reached $391.1bn across 406 transactions, the highest