In the first half of 2026, artificial intelligence startups secured more than $407 billion in venture capital funding, a remarkable increase from the $264 billion raised throughout 2025, as highlighted in PitchBook's Q2 2026 AI Report. Remarkably, just two companies, OpenAI and Anthropic, accounted for over half of this total, bringing in approximately $217 billion collectively.
Dimitri Zabelin, a senior analyst at PitchBook and the report's author, noted, "The concentration of capital into frontier models illustrates investors' confidence in OpenAI and Anthropic’s capacity not only to expand their own platforms but also to enhance the applications that operate on these systems. It is an astonishing amount of funding."
These two industry leaders achieved this substantial funding through only three rounds: OpenAI secured a landmark $122 billion in March, while Anthropic's funding comprised a $65 billion Series H round in May and a $30 billion Series G in February.
The remaining startups are left to vie for the rest of the funds. Interestingly, companies focused on vertical applications—those developing products and services based on these advanced models—represented 62.9% of the total AI deals in H1 but only received 12.9% of the funding. In contrast, horizontal platform firms like World Labs and ElevenLabs, along with the large language model organizations, garnered 70.8% of the total deal value, amounting to $288.1 billion.
The trend of concentrated funding in AI startups is evident across the sector. The first half of 2026 experienced only 3,500 deals, a significant decrease from the 8,290 recorded in all of 2025.
This decline in deal activity is more reflective of the broader global economic conditions rather than any decline in enthusiasm for AI, according to Zabelin. Factors such as inflation related to the ongoing conflict in Iran have compelled the US Federal Reserve to slow down its rate-cut initiatives, resulting in tighter credit and a more cautious investment approach.
These economic pressures are also affecting the exit strategies of leading AI labs. Reports indicate that OpenAI may consider postponing its initial public offering (IPO) until 2027, amid claims of the company not meeting internal goals and concerns regarding market volatility.
Looking ahead, Zabelin anticipates that the trend of capital concentration, rather than a scarcity of funding, will continue to characterize the AI landscape through the rest of 2026.
