Nearly 20 U.S. AI startups raise mega-rounds early in 2026

The U.S. AI startup market has started 2026 with a high volume of mega-rounds—defined as funding rounds of $100 million or more. This early momentum follows a year in which U.S. AI startups raised more than $76 billion through mega-rounds in 2025, according to TechCrunch. In the first few weeks of 2026, nearly 20 U.S.-based AI startups have already secured these massive capital injections, signaling continued investor appetite for artificial intelligence technologies.

The funding activity spans various sectors of the AI ecosystem, from foundational research labs to specialized application developers and infrastructure providers. The transactions announced in January and February 2026 include:

• Anthropic: Announced a $30 billion Series G round on February 12, valuing the AI research lab at $380 billion. Investors in the round included Founders Fund, Coatue, and Nvidia.
• xAI: Announced a $20 billion Series E round on January 6. Investors in the round included Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, and the Qatar Investment Authority. The company was acquired by SpaceX a few weeks later.
• SkildAI: Raised a $1.4 billion Series C round announced on January 14, valuing the startup at $14 billion. The round was led by SoftBank and Nvidia.
• ElevenLabs: Announced a $500 million Series D round on February 4, valuing the company at $11 billion, with the round led by Sequoia.
• humans&: Raised a $480 million seed round announced on January 20, valuing the startup at $4.48 billion. Investors in the round included Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, and GV.
• Runway: Raised a $315 million Series E round announced on February 10, valuing the company at $5.3 billion. The round was led by General Atlantic, with participation from Nvidia, Fidelity, and Felicis.
• Baseten: Announced a $300 million Series E round on January 23, valuing the AI infrastructure startup at $5 billion. The round was led by IVP and CapitalG.
• Fundamental: Announced a $255 million Series A round on February 5, valuing the company at $1.4 billion. Investors included Oak HC/FT, Salesforce Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, and QP Ventures.
• Decagon: Announced a $250 million Series D round on January 28, valuing the company at $4.5 billion. The round was co-led by Coatue and Index Ventures.
• OpenEvidence: Raised a $250 million Series D round announced on January 21, valuing the company at $12 billion. The round was co-led by Thrive Global and DST Global.
• Flapping Airplanes: Raised a $180 million seed round announced on January 28, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. The round was led by Google Ventures, Sequoia, and Index Ventures.
• Goodfire: Announced a $150 million Series B round on February 5, valuing the company at $1.25 billion. The round was led by B Capital, with participation from Juniper Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Menlo Ventures.
• PaleBlueDot AI: Raised a $150 million Series B round announced on January 28, valuing the startup at $1 billion, with the round led by B Capital.
• Inferact: Raised a $150 million seed round announced on January 22, valuing the company at $800 million. The round was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
• Arena: Raised a $150 million Series A round announced on January 6, valuing the startup at $1.7 billion. The round was co-led by Felicis and UC Investments.
• Deepgram: Raised a $130 million Series C round announced on January 13, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. The round was led by AVP, with participation from Tiger Global, ServiceNow Ventures, and Madrona.
• Simile: Raised a $100 million Series A round announced on February 12. The round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from Hanabi Capital and Bain Capital Ventures.

Why it matters

The AI startup market is seeing a high volume of large funding rounds early in 2026, following a year where U.S. AI startups raised more than $76 billion. This concentration of capital suggests that investors remain committed to backing both established players and early-stage infrastructure providers despite broader market questions.