AI biotechs punched above their weight in 1H26 venture megarounds

The trend of VCs concentrating funding in fewer, larger deals in the first half of the year was especially pronounced for AI-driven biotechs. In 1H26, seven AI-focused biotechs disclosed $200 million-plus megarounds, the same number as their non-AI peers, even though AI companies accounted for less than a quarter of venture financings in BioCentury’s analysis.

Overall venture deal count approached its lowest first-half total in a decade. Among biotechs disclosing the amount raised, about 24% described AI, machine learning, deep learning, or computer vision as a core component of their strategy. The remaining 76% made no such claims and are classified as “non-AI” for this analysis...