Artificial intelligence dominated private capital markets during the second quarter of 2026, but the largest funding rounds reveal something bigger than investors simply pouring money into AI companies.
A review of the five largest private funding rounds tracked by Forge Global during the quarter reveals a common theme: the biggest winners are companies developing foundational AI models, autonomous defense systems, enterprise automation platforms, computing infrastructure and AI deployment tools. These businesses are positioning themselves as critical components of the broader economy rather than standalone software providers.
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The Quarter’s Massive Infrastructure Plays
Leading the list was Anthropic, which raised a staggering $65 billion Series H round, valuing the company at approximately $965 billion as it prepares for a potential public offering.
Defense technology company Anduril secured a $5 billion financing to expand manufacturing capacity, accelerate autonomous defense products and invest in next-generation military technologies.
Meanwhile, Reflection AI raised $2.5 billion to automate complex knowledge work and recently partnered with SpaceX to support the aerospace company’s growing AI computing ambitions.
Long Lake closed a $2.25 billion funding round while pursuing an acquisition of American Express Global Business Travel, betting that AI-powered workflows can transform a traditional services business. Baseten rounded out the top five with a $1.5 billion raise to expand its AI inference platform, positioning itself as infrastructure that helps enterprises deploy and manage machine learning models at scale.
Taken together, those investments suggest private markets are shifting their focus from AI applications to the companies enabling adoption across entire sectors.
Shifting From Apps to Infrastructure
For much of the past decade, venture capital rewarded software companies that disrupted individual markets with new applications. Today’s largest financings increasingly target businesses building computing capacity, deployment platforms, defense systems and enterprise technology infrastructure that other organizations rely on.
The implication is that the most valuable AI companies may not be the ones creating the most popular applications, but the ones supplying the tools and systems that allow thousands of other businesses to adopt AI.
The trend is also blurring the traditional boundaries between venture capital, private equity and infrastructure investing.
Long Lake’s acquisition strategy illustrates that convergence. Rather than waiting for customers to adopt its technology organically, the company is seeking to purchase an established enterprise business and integrate AI directly into its operations. The approach resembles the operational playbook long used by private equity firms, with artificial intelligence serving as the primary value-creation driver.
Beyond Software
Meanwhile, companies like Anduril and Anthropic are expanding beyond software into strategic markets tied to national security, cloud computing and enterprise technology, giving investors exposure to opportunities that extend beyond traditional AI.
None of this guarantees these companies will become the next generation of market leaders. Late-stage funding rounds have historically produced both spectacular successes and high-profile disappointments.
Still, Forge noted that large financings can give companies the resources to strengthen their competitive positioning ahead of potential liquidity events, making them important signals for investors evaluating future opportunities.
If the second quarter’s funding landscape is any indication, private capital is increasingly betting that the biggest fortunes in AI won’t come from building another chatbot. They will come from owning the infrastructure that makes the AI economy possible.
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