Institutional investors are pouring record amounts of capital into private equity and venture deals in 2026, as blockbuster artificial intelligence funding rounds—led by companies such as Anthropic—reshape the private markets.

Limited partner coinvestments totaled $198 billion between January 1 and June 25, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That figure has already exceeded the full-year total recorded in five of the last six years and puts 2026 on track to surpass the $253 billion invested across all of 2025.

The surge has been driven in large part by a handful of blockbuster AI financings. S&P said three funding rounds for Anthropic, including the company’s $65 billion raise, as well as a major financing for rival xAI, ranked among the 10 largest global coinvestment transactions completed since the start of 2025.

S&P Global Market Intelligence highlights how institutional investors are increasingly investing directly alongside private equity and venture capital firms rather than only committing capital to their funds.

These coinvestments give limited partners exposure to specific deals while typically lowering fees and offering greater control over portfolio construction.

Despite uneven dealmaking across private markets, AI continues to attract record levels of capital. The second quarter generated $74.68 billion in coinvestments, according to S&P.

Although below the exceptionally strong first quarter, the total exceeded every quarterly figure recorded in 2023 and 2024, underscoring sustained demand for large-scale AI deals. Sovereign wealth funds led the way, participating in $178.12 billion of direct investments through June 30—nearly double the combined total invested by pension funds, endowments and family offices.

Pension funds also accelerated their activity, deploying $76 billion during the first half of 2026, already surpassing the $59.59 billion invested in all of 2025. The data suggests institutional investors remain willing to write increasingly large checks for high-conviction opportunities despite economic uncertainty and slower fundraising across traditional private equity.

Beyond Anthropic

Among the largest transactions included Silver Lake’s $55.2 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts, AES Corp.’s $48.1 billion infrastructure deal, Aligned Data Centers’ $40 billion financing and Waymo’s $16 billion funding round, highlighting that while infrastructure and buyouts remain active, AI continues to dominate the largest private financings.

With AI companies commanding some of the biggest private funding rounds on record, S&P said direct coinvestments are becoming an increasingly important way for the world’s largest institutional investors to gain exposure to the sector alongside established private market managers.

If the current pace continues, 2026 is on track to set another annual record for global private equity and venture capital coinvestment activity.

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