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AI venture funding is huge, but narrow
Crunchbase reported North American startup investment hit $392 billion in the first half of 2026, including $137.2 billion in Q2.
Johal Capital July 12, 2026
The situation
Crunchbase reported North American startup investment hit $392 billion in the first half of 2026, including $137.2 billion in Q2. The driver was not broad startup health: deal count remained below prior highs. Capital was concentrated in giant AI rounds, especially Anthropic's $65 billion Q2 financing at a $965 billion post-money valuation, which Crunchbase said accounted for about half the quarter's total.
Why it matters: the AI private market is pricing category leaders like public-market mega-caps before they are public. That can create real platform winners, but it also compresses future returns for late entrants. Watch whether early-stage funding broadens beyond model labs, compute infrastructure and AI application wrappers.
Why it matters
Private funding rounds are useful signals because they show where strategic capital believes the next infrastructure layer is forming before the public markets get a clean look.
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