Global rounds of funding value jumps 34% in January, led by X.AI

Global private‑equity and venture‑capital funding rounds in January totaled $45.54 billion, with AI firm X.AI LLC accounting for 44% of the value, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

The total deal value represents a 34% increase from the $33.99 billion recorded in December 2025.

The number of rounds fell 26% month over month to 947, the lowest monthly tally since at least January 2024.

On a year‑over‑year basis, the value of funding rounds rose 87% to $45.54 billion from $24.32 billion in January 2025, while transaction volume declined 36% to 947 from 1,469.

Aggregate transaction values and volume may not match figures reported for preceding periods due to subsequently acquired disclosures and updates.

– Download a spreadsheet with data featured in this story. – Read about global private equity and venture capital deal activity in January. – See trends in Anthropic's head count as it raises more capital.

In January, the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector led all funding activity, raising $30.10 billion — accounting for 66.1% of the month's total capital. Healthcare companies came in second, securing $4.51 billion, or 9.9% of the overall transaction value.

The TMT sector recorded 295 transactions in January, a 50% decline from the 592 deals completed in the same month a year earlier. Within the sector, the application software segment was the most active, accounting for 160 transactions or 54% of the total TMT deal volume for the month.

Top rounds of funding

Prior to a Feb. 2 agreement to be acquired by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. in a $250 billion transaction, X.AI LLC completed a round of funding worth $20 billion in January. The Elon Musk-led company raised the capital from investors Cisco Investments, MGX Fund Management Ltd., Baron Capital Group Inc., Fidelity Management & Research Co. LLC, Qatar Investment Authority, Valor Management LLC, StepStone Group Inc., NVIDIA Corp. and Tesla Inc.

The company is also set to raise another $2 billion from Tesla.