The Q2 2026 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor shows a venture market that set records at the top while shrinking in most segments below it. The headline totals hide how concentrated the money has become.
The numbers
- $412.7 billion of venture capital was deployed in the US in the first half of 2026.
- 87.5% of that total came from deals of $100 million or more.
- AI accounted for 86% of all venture dollars.
- On the fundraising side, three firms (Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital and Founders Fund) took in 48.1% of all capital raised.
- First-time fund formation was on pace for its lowest year since 2016.
- The report attributes about $1.7 trillion of exit value to the SpaceX IPO, more than the prior decade of exits combined, and notes that OpenAI and Anthropic have confidentially filed for public listings.
What it means
The Monitor describes the market as bifurcated. A small number of very large AI rounds and a handful of large firms account for most of the money, while access to capital for emerging managers, venture debt and non-AI companies has tightened.
For most investors and founders, the relevant market is not the headline one. Round sizes, timelines and terms outside the megadeal tier look very different from the totals.
In a concentrated market, smaller funds and family offices compete for the same companies with fewer people. Doing first-pass diligence faster, with every finding cited, is one of the few ways to close that gap.
Source
PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, Q2 2026. This post summarizes the source in our own words; figures are as reported there. Read the original for full methodology.