Download here the BeBeez 1Q26 Venture Capital Report
KPMG said in its Venture Pulse 1Q26 Report that global market participants closed 8646 deals whose value amounted to 330.9 billion US Dollars (128.6 billion – 10.097 deals in 4Q25, 500 billion in 2025) (press release).
The startups and scaleups based in Italy or with Italian founders secured 71 rounds worth above 816 million euros in aggregate, BeBeez 1Q26 Venture Capital Report says (5.9 billion euros for 293rounds in 2025, little more 1.7 billion – 287 rounds in 2024) (BeBeez Venture Capital Report 2025; BeBeez sul Venture Capital nel 2024).
CB Insights analysed 6598 equity deals in 1Q26 worth in aggregate 285.5 billion US Dollars while in 2025 investors closed 33532 transactions for a total of 470.2 billion.
KPMG reports highlights that ten rounds worth above 2 billion US Dollars each contributed for more than 62% of the whole quarterly fundraising. The US AI sector is leading the market. In April 2026, OpenAI secured a 122 billion round (see here a previous post by BeBeez). Further megadeals involved Anthropic (30 billion), Waymo (16 billion), xAI (7.5 billion in equity and 12.5 billion in debt), Databricks (7 billion), Polymarket (2.6 billion), and Shield AI (2.3 billion). CB Insights says that in 1Q26 AI Scaleup and Startups closed 1.965 deals with an aggregate value of 226.2 billion.
KPMG report also pointed out that semiconductors, data centres, enabling infrastructure, agent-based AI, physical AI and sector-specific solutions are increasingly attracting the investors interest.
The report also added that in 1Q26 US AI players raised 267.2 billion (25.7 billion in Europe, 31.8 billion in Asia).
The global value of exits is of 413.5 billion (184.3 billion in 4Q25) grace to large M&A deals such as SpaceX acquisition of xAI (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In 1Q26, 83 IPOs amounted to 65.2 billion.
However, KPMG said that the outlook for 2Q26 is more volatile given that the geopolitical tensions are the main risk factor for the VC market, particularly in the Americas and Europe. Rising oil prices, inflationary fears and the prospect of further interest rate hikes risk make the economic environment more fragile, with potential repercussions for IPO activity in USA. On the investment front, AI is set to remain the dominant theme, alongside defence tech, space tech and cybersecurity that may attract increasing attention in a more unstable geopolitical landscape.
