Key takeaways
- The short answer: the best-known AI investors are Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Menlo Ventures, plus AI-only firms such as Radical Ventures and Air Street Capital. Private Equity List tracks 2,284 investors that back AI startups, as of November 2026.
- Who they are: 2,162 of the 2,284 are venture capital firms. 128 are corporate venture arms such as Nvidia GPU Ventures and Ciena Ventures.
- Early money: 2,004 of them invest at pre-seed or seed, and 1,250 write cheques of under $5M.
- New AI funds: 323 of the 875 funds launched in 2026 list AI as a focus. AI's share of new funds rose from 20% in January to 46% in October.
- Biggest raises: 48 funds announced in 2026 were built for AI, worth $81.6B as announced. MGX's $49B Fund I is the largest, and Bessemer's $5.75B leads among venture firms.
- Where the money goes: AI startups took $102B, or 64% of global venture funding, in Q3 2026, according to Crunchbase.
 United States | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
 Germany | |
 India | |
 France | |
 Canada | |
 Singapore |
Source: Private Equity List database
| Under $1M | 562 | 25.4% |
|---|---|---|
| $1–5M | 688 | 31.1% |
| $5–10M | 145 | 6.6% |
| $10–50M | 669 | 30.3% |
| $50–100M | 66 | 3.0% |
| $100M+ | 80 | 3.6% |
Source: Private Equity List database
AI investors in 2026: who backs AI startups and how much
Venture capital firms: 2,162 of the 2,284 AI investors in Private Equity List are venture firms. 575 are also tagged as private equity investors, as types overlap.
Corporate venture arms: 128 companies invest through their own funds, from Nvidia GPU Ventures to Ciena, which launched a $200M fund for AI networking in September 2026.
Angels and family offices: 69 angel investors and 42 family offices list AI as a focus.
Where they are: 1,183 are based in the United States, 52% of the total. The United Kingdom has 182 and Germany 89.
Share of the market: AI startups raised $102B of the $159B invested worldwide in Q3 2026, or 64% (Crunchbase).
In the US: AI took 82.7% of US venture deal value in the first nine months of 2026, out of a record $515.8B (PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor via SiliconANGLE).
Billion-dollar rounds: a record 27 companies raised $1B or more in a single round in Q3 2026 (Crunchbase).
Seed is the crowded stage: 1,994 AI investors back seed rounds, and 1,043 go in at pre-seed.
Fewer at growth: 858 invest at Series C or later, less than half the seed count.
Cheque sizes: 562 AI investors write cheques under $1M and 688 write $1–5M. Only 80 write $100M or more.
New AI funds in 2026: 323 launches, and the share keeps rising
| 9 | 11 | 31 | 27 | 27 | 39 | 37 | 39 | 41 | −4.9% on Sep39 |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct |
|---|
Source: Private Equity List database
| Jan | 19.6% |
|---|---|
| Feb | 23.9% |
| Mar | 39.7% |
| Apr | 28.1% |
| May | 21.6% |
| Jun | 39.4% |
| Jul | 44.6% |
| Aug | 47.6% |
| Sep | 45.1% |
| Oct | 46.4% |
Source: Private Equity List database
The count: 323 of the 875 funds launched in 2026 list AI among their sectors, 37% of the total.
The trend: the first quarter had 51 AI-focused funds out of 170. The third quarter had 117 out of 256, close to half.
November so far: 23 of the 45 funds launched from 1 to 12 November list AI, 51%.
Built for AI: 48 of these funds were announced as AI funds by name or thesis. They are listed below with the announcements.
First funds: 13 of the 48 are a firm's debut fund or Fund I, including Zero Shot, Deep33, Tenet and BAG Ventures.
Biggest new AI funds of 2026
 Bessemer Venture Partners | |
|---|---|
 Khosla Ventures (target) | |
 Kleiner Perkins | |
 Menlo Ventures | |
 Spark Capital (target) | |
 Bain Capital Ventures | |
 Andreessen Horowitz | |
 Radical Ventures | |
 Aldaron | |
 Union Square Ventures |
Source: Private Equity List database
MGX closed MGX Fund I at $49B, the largest AI fund of the year by far (Pulse 2.0). The UAE investor writes late-stage cheques of $100M and more.- Bessemer Venture Partners raised $5.75B for early and growth-stage investments in September (VC Wire). It invests from seed to Series C+.
- Khosla Ventures is aiming for a record $5.5B fund focused on early AI (Fund Momentum). It led 12 venture rounds in Q3 2026, third among all investors (Crunchbase).
- Kleiner Perkins raised $3.5B across two AI funds, KP22 and KP Select IV (Fund Momentum). It was its largest raise in over a decade.
- Menlo Ventures raised $3B for Menlo Ventures XVII, aimed at AI (VC Wire).
- Spark Capital is targeting $3B in new funds after a near-100x return on Anthropic (Fund Momentum).
- Bain Capital Ventures raised about $1.6B for a fund it frames as a bet on life after AGI (Fund Momentum).
- Andreessen Horowitz launched the $1.1B Machine Age Fund for AI infrastructure (Fund Momentum). It led 16 rounds in Q3 2026, second only to Insight Partners (Crunchbase).
- Radical Ventures launched the Radical Breakouts Fund with more than $1B for AI scaleups (Fund Momentum). The Toronto firm invests only in AI.
- Union Square Ventures raised $900M for its 2026 fund, doubling down on AI-era companies (Fund Momentum).
Top AI investors to know: 20 venture firms
| Firm | HQ | Cheque size | Stages | AI in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sequoia Capital | Menlo Park | $100M+ | Seed–Series C+ | Led 10 rounds in Q3 2026, among the busiest lead investors |
| Andreessen Horowitz | Menlo Park | $50–100M | Seed–Series C+ | $1.1B Machine Age Fund; led 16 rounds in Q3 2026 |
| Khosla Ventures | Menlo Park | $100M+ | Seed–Series C+ | Targets a $5.5B fund for early AI; led 12 rounds in Q3 |
| Kleiner Perkins | Menlo Park | $50–100M | Seed–Series C+ | $3.5B across two AI funds |
| Menlo Ventures | Menlo Park | $1–5M | Seed–Series C+ | $3B Fund XVII for AI |
| Bessemer Venture Partners | Redwood City | $100M+ | Seed–Series C+ | $5.75B for early and growth stage |
 Greylock Partners | Menlo Park | $10–50M | Pre-seed–Series C+ | $1.5B Greylock 18; focused on AI-first companies |
 Index Ventures | London | $10–50M | Seed–Series C+ | $2B across seed, venture and growth funds |
 General Catalyst | San Francisco | $10–50M | Seed–Series C+ | Multi-stage, AI among its sectors |
 Thrive Capital | New York | $10–50M | Seed–Series C+ | Multi-stage technology investor |
| Bain Capital Ventures | San Francisco | $10–50M | Seed–Series C+ | About $1.6B "Life After AGI" fund |
 Lux Capital | New York | $10–50M | Seed–Series C+ | Up to $300M for Lux Compute Leaders |
| Radical Ventures | Toronto | $10–50M | Pre-seed–Series C+ | AI only; $1B+ Breakouts Fund |
 Gradient Ventures | San Francisco | $10–50M | Pre-seed–Series B | Started as Google's AI seed fund; $220M Fund V |
 Air Street Capital | London | $10–50M | Seed–Series C+ | AI-first solo GP; $232M Fund III |
 Nvidia GPU Ventures | Santa Clara | $1–5M | Seed–Series C+ | Nvidia led or co-led $6.3B of rounds in Q3 2026 |
| MGX |  UAE | $100M+ | Series C+ | $49B Fund I for AI and advanced technology |
 Zetta Venture Partners | San Francisco | $1–5M | Seed–Series B | AI-native apps, infrastructure and developer tools |
 AIX Ventures | Palo Alto | $5–10M | Pre-seed–Series C+ | Run by AI practitioners incl. Christopher Manning |
 Merantix Capital | Berlin | Under $1M | Pre-seed–Seed | €103M Early-Stage AI Fund, its largest |
How we picked them: firms with an AI focus in their Private Equity List profile that either raised an AI fund in 2026 or ranked among the busiest lead investors in Crunchbase's Q3 2026 data.
Full list: all 2,162 AI venture capital firms are in the catalogue of AI venture capital firms, with filters by country, stage and cheque size.
AI venture capital firms with a new fund in 2026, by region
48 funds were announced in 2026 as AI funds. Cheque sizes and stages come from each firm's Private Equity List profile, and fund sizes are as announced, with targets and first closes marked.
United States: 26 new AI funds
Count: 26 of the 48 AI funds come from US managers, including seven of the nine funds of $1B or more.
Smaller funds: Zero Shot, 49 Palms Ventures and Corazon Capital each raised $100M, and BAG Ventures closed an $11.3M debut fund.
Full list: AI venture capital firms in the United States.
United Kingdom: 4 new AI funds
Count: four UK managers launched AI funds. The largest is the government's $635M Sovereign AI Fund, which runs like a venture fund.
Private money: QuantumLight closed its Fund II at €432M, and SuperSeed launched a $63.5M seed fund for physical AI.
Full list: AI venture capital firms in the United Kingdom.
| Firm | HQ | New AI fund in 2026 | Cheque size | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Government | London | Sovereign AI Fund, $635M | $10–50M | Seed–Series B |
 QuantumLight | London | Fund II, closed at €432M (about $500M) | $10–50M | Series C+ |
 Samaipata | London | Fund III, €70M first close on €110M | $1–5M | Pre-seed–Series A |
 SuperSeed | London | Physical AI Seed Fund III, $63.5M | Under $1M | Seed |
Continental Europe: 8 new AI funds
Count: eight AI funds from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, each of €103M or less.
Early stage: all eight managers invest at pre-seed and seed, from Merantix Capital in Berlin to Pitchdrive in Antwerp.
Full list: AI venture capital firms in Germany and the AI catalogue.
| Firm | HQ | New AI fund in 2026 | Cheque size | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merantix Capital | Berlin | Early-Stage AI Fund, €103M | Under $1M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 Tenet | Berlin | debut fund, €80M, AI-powered roll-ups | $10–50M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 Pitchdrive |  Antwerp | Fund IV, capped at €60M, AI-native pre-seed | Under $1M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 Eureka Venture |  Milan | Z_One with Zest, €55M, AI and urbantech | Under $1M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 Lucid Capital | Berlin | Fund I, $36M, B2B software and AI | Under $1M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 Cleo Ventures | Paris | Fund II, €30M, AI only | $10–50M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 Masia |  Barcelona | debut fund, €18M, AI and frontier tech | Under $1M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 Curiosity VC |  Amsterdam | Fund II, €17M first close, vertical AI | Under $1M | Pre-seed–Seed |
Israel, Asia and rest of world: 10 new AI funds
Israel: three funds, Team8, StageOne Ventures and AlphaDrive Ventures, with $630M between them and a tilt to security and infrastructure.
Asia and the Gulf: MGX in the UAE, Monolith in Hong Kong, Empyrean Sky in Singapore and GMO VenturePartners in Tokyo.
Canada and Africa: Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital in Canada, and Enza Capital's $21M African AI Fund in Nairobi.
| Firm | HQ | New AI fund in 2026 | Cheque size | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MGX | UAE | MGX Fund I, closed at $49B | $100M+ | Series C+ |
| Radical Ventures | Toronto | Radical Breakouts Fund, $1B+ for AI scaleups | $10–50M | Series C+ |
 Monolith Management | Hong Kong | $745.1M RMB AI fund; Zhihu committed $223M | $5–10M | Seed–Series B |
 Team8 |  Tel Aviv | third fund, $365M, AI-native security | Under $1M | — |
 Empyrean Sky Partners | Singapore | $90M first close on a $200M AI-robotics fund | $10–50M | Series C+ |
 Inovia Capital | Montreal | Fund VI, $200M first close, $325M target | $10–50M | Seed–Series A |
 StageOne Ventures | Herzliya | Fund V, $165M, AI infrastructure | $1–5M | Pre-seed–Seed |
 AlphaDrive Ventures | Ramat Gan | Fund I, $100M, cyber and AI | $5–10M | Seed |
 GMO VenturePartners |  Tokyo | Fintech Fund 8, about $65M first close | $1–5M | Seed–Series C+ |
 Enza Capital |  Nairobi | African AI Fund, $21M | $1–5M | Series C+ |
AI investors compared: specialists, generalists and corporates
| Type | In Private Equity List | Most common cheque | What they bring | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI-only venture firms | part of the 2,162 VCs | Under $1M (Merantix) to $10–50M (Radical) | Technical diligence, AI networks, a thesis on models and infrastructure | Radical Ventures, Air Street Capital, Zetta, Merantix Capital |
| Multi-stage venture firms | 2,162 venture firms in total | $1–5M (673 firms) | Follow-on money from seed to growth, recruiting and brand | Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Bessemer |
| Corporate venture arms | 128 | $10–50M (50 firms) | Customers, chips, cloud credits or distribution | Nvidia GPU Ventures, Ciena Ventures, MISUMI Ventures |
| Angel investors | 69 | Under $1M (35) | Fast decisions and operator advice at pre-seed | Individual angels in the catalogue |
| Sovereign and strategic funds | — | $10–50M to $100M+ | Very large late-stage rounds and infrastructure money | MGX, UK Sovereign AI Fund |
Specialist or generalist: AI-only firms such as Air Street Capital are built around one thesis, while Sequoia or Bessemer can follow on from seed to Series C+.
Corporate money: a corporate investor can become a customer or supplier, but its strategy can change with the parent's budget.
The busiest leads: Insight Partners led 18 rounds in Q3 2026, Andreessen Horowitz 16 and Khosla Ventures 12 (Crunchbase).
Which AI investors back each stage
Pre-seed: 1,043 AI investors in Private Equity List. Pitchdrive capped its Fund IV at €60M to stay small for AI-native pre-seed rounds, and Cleo Ventures invests only in AI from Paris.
Seed: the most crowded stage, with 1,994 investors. Zero Shot, Decimal Capital, Breed and Union Square Ventures all list seed.
Series A: 1,723 investors. Permanent Capital Ventures raised a $200M Fund II for applied AI at Series A.
Series B: 1,125 investors, including Base10 Partners, which raised a second Series B fund in its $850M round.
Growth and late stage: 858 investors. Radical Ventures' Breakouts Fund is for AI scaleups, and MGX invests only at Series C and later.
Seed lists: for the first cheque, see our guide to seed and pre-seed investors.
How to find AI investors for your startup
Filter the catalogue: start with AI venture capital firms and narrow by country, stage and cheque size. 1,250 AI investors write cheques under $5M.
Pitch funds that just raised: a fund in its first year is still writing new cheques. The new VC funds tracker lists every launch, 875 so far in 2026.
Check the stage fit: a Series C+ fund such as MGX will not take a seed round, and a pre-seed fund like Pitchdrive cannot lead a Series B.
Get the right person: profiles list the investment team. Our guide to investor email lists covers how to reach partners directly.
Write the outreach: use the investor outreach email templates, then plan the round with the capital raise guide.
Corporate investors: for a strategic partner, browse corporate venture capital investors.
Compare data tools: if you are choosing a database for the search, see our investor database comparison, PitchBook alternatives and Crunchbase alternatives, or Private Equity List pricing.
Data and methodology
AI investors: the 2,284 investors are every published Private Equity List profile with AI among its sectors on 13 November 2026. Types and stages overlap; cheque sizes and headquarters come from the profiles.
New funds: the 323 AI-focused funds are funds launched from 1 January to 12 November 2026 with AI among their sectors. The 48 AI funds come from our fund tracker, verified announcements only, and were checked against the linked articles.
External figures: global and US funding shares and lead-investor counts come from Crunchbase and the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, linked in the text.
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