The venture capital market in 2026 is characterized by a stark paradox: record-breaking total deal values driven by a massive artificial intelligence (AI) supercycle, set against a backdrop of historic lows in fundraising sentiment and a bottlenecked exit environment.
While total global venture deal value reached $726.9 billion in the first three quarters of 2026 — surpassing the $510.2 billion recorded for the entirety of 2025 — activity is increasingly concentrated in a handful of megadeals for AI infrastructure and large language model (LLM) developers. AI has accounted for 73.8% of global venture deal value in the first nine months of 2026, compared to 55.2% in 2025. Many of the top venture capital firms on this list have some stake in these high-profile deals, and some have launched dedicated AI funds to compete for deals in the AI sector.
In the first half of 2026, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, and Founders Fund together took in nearly half of US venture capital raised globally, and established managers (those raising a fourth fund or later) captured a record 88% of fundraising dollars through Q3 2026. Liquidity, long the industry's weak point, has started to loosen. SpaceX went public on June 12, 2026 in tandem acquiring Cursor for $60B. Google's $32B acquisition of Wiz closed in March 2026.
Below, we profile the leading venture capital firms dominating global AUM in 2026, based on key insights and perspectives found in the AlphaSense platform. AUM figures reflect each firm’s latest disclosure and are not directly comparable as a result of uncalled commitments or non-venture strategies.
Andreessen Horowitz: $100+ billion AUM
Andreessen Horowitz is the leader of the VC landscape, with more than $100 billion under management as of April 30, 2026 following a record-breaking $15 billion fundraise in early 2026. To put the firm's scale into perspective, this latest fundraise accounted for roughly 18% of all venture capital dollars allocated in the United States in 2025.
In 2026, the firm is heavily investing in the physical and computational foundations of artificial intelligence. In August 2026, it raised $1.1B for its first dedicated hardware-infrastructure fund, the Machine Age fund. The fund targets AI processors, memory, networking, storage and robotics.
Insight Partners: $90 billion+ AUM
Insight Partners continues to solidify its position as one of the world's most active "mega-managers," with estimated AUM exceeding $90 billion. The firm maintains a high-velocity investment pace, particularly in software, data, and growth-stage AI, frequently leading or participating in multi-billion dollar rounds for market leaders. Notable recent investments include AI companies Anthropic and Databricks, and it co-led Snorkel AI's $350M round at a $3.5B valuation.
While heavily weighted in the U.S., Insight Partners maintains a strong international presence, particularly in the Israeli and European tech ecosystems.
Lightspeed Venture Partners: $65 billion+ AUM
Lightspeed Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm that has backed more than 165 AI-native companies, committing over $5.5 billion to the category since 2012. The firm has positioned itself as an AI-first investor, with nearly 60% of its recent India-based investments flowing into AI-native startups. Lightspeed’s portfolio includes many of the world's most prominent foundational model companies, including Anthropic, xAI, Glean, Ramp, Databricks, and many others.
Thrive Capital: ~ $65 billion AUM
Led by Josh Kushner, Thrive Capital has grown faster than any firm on this list. Its AUM has nearly tripled since the end of 2024, up to $50B in July 2026 and $65B by August. Earlier in 2026, the firm raised its tenth fund at $10B. Thrive's concentrated portfolio strategy has made it an early backer of high-value private companies like OpenAI, SpaceX, and Stripe. The two key factors that drove its exponential growth were Thrive's SpaceX stake rising to $10B after the June IPO, and Thrive’s 7% stake in Cursor that was worth $4.2B after SpaceX's $60B acquisition.
Sequoia Capital: ~ $56 billion AUM
As one of Silicon Valley's most storied and successful venture firms, Sequoia Capital manages approximately $56 billion in assets. Over the last year, the firm has been one of the most active post-seed investors, particularly in the AI space, with key investments including Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI.
General Catalyst: $43 billion+ AUM
General Catalyst has spent 2026 evolving from a traditional venture capital firm into a global "investment and transformation" powerhouse, significantly expanding its footprint in India and pioneering non-dilutive funding models for the AI era. Its Customer Value Fund, which provides growth capital for sales and marketing without requiring founders to surrender additional equity, is a signature product. The firm is currently targeting large-scale AI infrastructure and healthcare transformation.
New Enterprise Associates: $38 billion+ AUM
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) manages more than $38B in AUM as of June 2026, investing in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. Throughout 2026, NEA has prioritized high-growth verticals like healthcare AI, fintech, and defense technology. It is also increasingly co-founding companies to drive innovation in complex sectors like immunology.
Accel: ~ $38 billion AUM
In 2026, Accel aggressively expanded its capital base to maintain its position as a top-tier venture firm, pivoting from basic AI tools to complex infrastructure and agentic systems. The firm currently has a concentrated focus in India, where it has hit a record fundraising pace to capitalize on the region's emerging AI ecosystem. Accel’s AI portfolio includes established AI companies like Anthropic, Perplexity, and Cursor.
Index Ventures: ~ $35 billion AUM
Index Ventures solidified its reputation as a premier global venture firm, especially following a banner year in 2025 that saw billions in gains from major exits such as Figma, Scale AI, and Dream Games. The firm is currently undergoing a leadership transition to a new generation of investors and an aggressive investment strategy focused on agentic AI and enterprise infrastructure. Index Ventures currently domiciles its heaviest investments in Europe, Israel, and North America.
Founders Fund: $17 billion+ AUM
Founders Fund reported $17B in AUM in March 2026. Its portfolio includes SpaceX, Spotify, Palantir, Stripe, Airbnb, Anduril and OpenAI. The firm has solidified its position as a dominant force in venture capital in 2026, characterized by its "zero to one" contrarian investment philosophy, — which focuses on companies that create net new categories, resulting in a massive influx of new capital.
Its portfolio has included SpaceX, Facebook, and Palantir. Most recently, it has bet on a New Zealand startup called Halter that puts solar-powered smart collars on cows to allow ranchers to move herds from an app. The firm's core strategy involves investing as early as possible and then "doubling or tripling down" on top-performing assets to maintain large ownership stakes as they scale.
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