DeepSeek's $7.4 billion raise is the single largest confirmed AI funding round of 2026, but it's far from the only mega-round this year — Mistral AI and Crusoe are reportedly in talks for multi-billion-dollar rounds of their own, and video, robotics, and AI infrastructure startups have all posted raises north of $1 billion. This is a running tracker of the biggest ones, updated as new rounds land.
The biggest AI rounds of 2026, ranked
| Company | Round | Amount | Valuation | What they do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | First outside round | $7.4B | ~$50-59B | Chinese frontier AI lab |
| Mistral AI | In talks (unconfirmed) | ~$3.5B | ~$23B | Open-weight foundation models |
| Crusoe | In talks (unconfirmed) | ~$3B | ~$30B | AI data center infrastructure |
| Kling AI | Carve-out round | ~$2.8B | ~$18B | AI video generation |
| Baseten | Series F | $1.5B | ~$13B | AI model inference platform |
| Quantum Systems | Series D | $1.2B | $8B | Autonomous AI drones |
| Together AI | Series C | $800M | $8.3B | AI neocloud / GPU infrastructure |
| Flourish | — | $500M | ~$2.5B | AI-driven venture (Bezos-backed) |
| Etched | — | $500M | $5B | Transformer ASIC chips |
| AlphaSense | — | $350M | $7.5B | Market-intelligence AI |
| Higgsfield | In talks (unconfirmed) | ~$300-500M | ~$5B | AI video generation |
| LeapXpert | Growth | $180M | — | AI enterprise messaging |
| Dominion Dynamics | Series A | $139M CAD | — | AI defense tech |
| Aligned | Series B | $60M | — | AI for B2B sales |
| Stathera | Series B | $55M | — | AI data-center timing chips |
| Bespoke Labs | Series A | $40M | — | Data curation for AI agents |
| Omen AI | Series A | $31M | — | AI data-center cooling |
| LinqAlpha | Series A | $22M | — | AI agents for investors |
| Generalist AI | — | $400M | ~$2B | Robot foundation models |
| Even Realities | — | $150M | $1B | AI smart glasses |
| Assort Health | Series C | $120M | $1.2B | Healthcare AI agents |
| TwelveLabs | Series B | $100M | — | Video understanding AI |
| Venice AI | Series A | $65M | $1B | Private, uncensored AI |
Table sorted by disclosed amount. Rounds marked "in talks" have not been officially confirmed by the companies as of this writing.
DeepSeek's $7.4B raise: the biggest of the year
DeepSeek closed 2026's largest AI round by a wide margin — $7.4 billion, notable not just for its size but because it's the first outside funding round the company has ever taken. Led by Tencent and battery giant CATL, the deal values DeepSeek at $50-59 billion, instantly putting it in the same tier as the most established Western foundation model labs. A Chinese frontier lab taking its first check this large, from a battery maker and a conglomerate rather than a traditional VC fund, shows how AI capital is diversifying beyond Silicon Valley.
Mistral and Crusoe: two mega-rounds still in talks
Two of the largest numbers here aren't done deals yet. Mistral AI is reportedly in talks for roughly $3.5 billion at a $23 billion valuation, with ASML said to be leading — a striking pairing of a chipmaking equipment giant and Europe's flagship open-weight model company. Crusoe, the AI data center and infrastructure builder, is separately reported to be in talks for around $3 billion at a $30 billion valuation. Neither round is officially confirmed, and terms could shift before signing — but the reported sizes show where investor appetite is concentrated: models and the compute that runs them.
Kling AI and Baseten: video and inference cash in
Kling AI, the video generation product carved out of Kuaishou, raised roughly $2.8 billion at an $18 billion post-money valuation — one of the largest rounds anywhere in generative video. Baseten closed a $1.5 billion Series F at a $13 billion valuation, led by Altimeter, Conviction, and Spark, underscoring how much capital is flowing into the inference layer that serves AI models in production.
The infrastructure and chips tier
Compute is the theme running through 2026's funding. Together AI raised $800 million at an $8.3 billion valuation, led by Aramco Ventures, to keep scaling its GPU-neocloud business. Etched raised $500 million at a $5 billion valuation to build transformer-specific ASIC chips — a bet that purpose-built silicon beats general-purpose GPUs on cost per token. Quantum Systems raised $1.2 billion at an $8 billion valuation for autonomous AI drones, a reminder that "AI infrastructure" money is increasingly flowing into defense and hardware too.
Applied AI: robotics, health, glasses, and video search
Beyond infrastructure, a cluster of applied-AI companies posted notable rounds. Flourish, backed by Jeff Bezos, raised $500 million at roughly a $2.5 billion valuation. Generalist AI raised $400 million at around $2 billion, led by Radical Ventures, to build foundation models for robots. AlphaSense raised $350 million at a $7.5 billion valuation for market-intelligence AI. Even Realities raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation for AI smart glasses, backed by Meituan and Tencent. Assort Health raised a $120 million Series C at $1.2 billion for healthcare AI agents, led by Menlo Ventures. TwelveLabs raised a $100 million Series B for video-understanding AI, co-led by NEA and NAVER. And Venice AI, the privacy-focused AI platform, raised a $65 million Series A at a $1 billion valuation led by Dragonfly.
Why AI rounds got this big
A few things are compounding at once. First, training and serving frontier models is capital-intensive in a way most software never was — GPU clusters, power contracts, and data center buildouts cost billions before a company sees meaningful revenue, so rounds have to scale accordingly. Second, valuations are being re-rated fast: companies like Together AI more than doubled their valuation in about 16 months, and investors are underwriting similar step-ups across the board because enterprise AI adoption and usage-based revenue are both climbing quickly. Third, capital sources have diversified — sovereign energy funds (Aramco), chipmaking-adjacent players (ASML, Nvidia), and strategic conglomerates (Tencent, CATL, Meituan) are now leading rounds alongside traditional VCs, which means there's simply more capital chasing fewer top-tier deals. That combination — real infrastructure costs, aggressive re-rating, and new pools of capital — is why "mega-round" now means low billions rather than low hundreds of millions.
This list will keep changing. Rounds currently "in talks" may close at different terms, and new mega-rounds are landing on close to a monthly cadence in 2026. For the full picture of how these deals get structured, see our guide on how AI startup funding rounds work.
Frequently asked questions
What was the biggest AI funding round of 2026 so far? DeepSeek's $7.4 billion raise is the largest confirmed AI round of 2026, valuing the company at roughly $50-59 billion in its first-ever outside funding round, led by Tencent and CATL.
How big are AI funding rounds getting in 2026? Rounds above $500 million are now routine. Multiple companies — DeepSeek, Mistral (in talks), Crusoe (in talks), and Kling AI — have raised or are reportedly in talks for rounds between $2.8 billion and $7.4 billion in 2026 alone.
Are all the rounds on this list confirmed? Most are closed and announced, but a few — including Mistral AI's reported $3.5 billion round and Crusoe's reported $3 billion round — are still described as "in talks" by reporting at time of writing and haven't been officially confirmed by the companies.
Why are AI companies raising so much money in 2026? Three drivers: the cost of GPU compute and data center capacity has exploded, foundation model labs need capital to stay competitive on training runs, and investors are willing to underwrite steep valuation step-ups because enterprise AI revenue is compounding fast.
This is a living tracker — Wortins updates it as new AI mega-rounds are confirmed. For the latest raises, valuations, and acquisitions as they happen, see the AI Funding Tracker.