Venture Capital Intelligence Report
February 11, 2026 • Synthesizing insights from top-tier VCs
VCs are increasingly selective as AI hype transitions to measurable business outcomes. Focus shifting from horizontal AI tools to vertical-specific applications with clear ROI.
Series A/B rounds seeing more rigorous due diligence on unit economics. Seed remains active for AI infrastructure and vertical SaaS. Growth rounds requiring stronger revenue metrics.
AI infrastructure valuations compressing 20-30% from 2024 peaks. Enterprise software multiples normalizing to 8-12x revenue for profitable companies.
Core infrastructure for AI deployment, optimization, and monitoring becoming critical as enterprises scale AI workloads beyond experimentation
AI applications built for specific industries showing 10x better adoption than horizontal tools due to domain expertise and workflow integration
Physical infrastructure for carbon capture, renewable energy storage, and green manufacturing scaling with government incentives and corporate commitments
Developer productivity tools incorporating AI to accelerate software development lifecycle, from code generation to deployment and monitoring
B2B fintech infrastructure enabling embedded finance, real-time payments, and regulatory compliance for vertical SaaS companies
Companies building AI agents for specific business processes (sales, customer service, finance) will capture more value than general-purpose AI tools
Traditional vertical SaaS companies adding AI features will lose to AI-native companies building for the same verticals
GDPR and AI Act compliance experience gives European startups competitive moats in healthcare, finance, and government sectors globally
Moving from R&D phase to deployment phase creates multi-billion dollar infrastructure opportunities in carbon capture, green manufacturing, and renewable energy storage
AI-powered development tools will expand the developer population from 30M to 100M+ globally, creating massive new tool markets
Autonomous AI systems that handle complete business workflows from start to finish, not just provide recommendations
LLM reliability crossed threshold for autonomous operation in constrained domains
$500B+ market as agents replace traditional workflow software
Early signals from: a16z, Sequoia, General Catalyst
Companies to watch: Adept, MultiOn, Dust
AI systems specifically designed to navigate complex regulatory environments and ensure compliance automatically
AI Act in EU and similar regulations creating need for automated compliance
$100B+ market across financial services, healthcare, and enterprise software
Early signals from: Index, Accel, Bessemer
Companies to watch: Privacera, DataGrail, Transcend
Using engineered biology to manufacture chemicals, materials, and pharmaceuticals at industrial scale
Costs of DNA synthesis and fermentation reaching economic viability for commodity production
$1T+ market opportunity across chemicals, materials, food, and pharma
Early signals from: Breakthrough Energy, Kleiner, a16z
Companies to watch: Ginkgo Bioworks, Zymergen, Modern Meadow
Backend infrastructure for AR/VR applications including 3D mapping, real-time rendering, and multi-user coordination
Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest creating demand for enterprise spatial computing apps
$200B+ market as spatial computing becomes mainstream
Early signals from: Lightspeed, Benchmark, Index
Companies to watch: Niantic, Unity, 8th Wall
Previous: Red hot in 2021-2023 with multiple unicorns → Now: Significant cooling with few new investments
User acquisition costs skyrocketing, monetization challenges, and platform risk from iOS changes
What Changed: iOS 14.5 privacy changes and economic downturn reduced consumer spending on social platforms
VCs Cautious: Benchmark, General Catalyst, Lightspeed
Previous: Massive interest in 2021-2022 → Now: Very selective investment with focus on utility
Poor user experience, speculative token economics, and regulatory uncertainty
What Changed: Market realized that blockchain gaming needs better gameplay before tokenization
VCs Cautious: a16z, Paradigm, Sequoia
Previous: Strong interest through 2024 → Now: Increasingly difficult to get funded
Market saturation and AI-native tools making legacy productivity software obsolete
What Changed: Vertical-specific solutions proving more valuable than horizontal improvements
VCs Cautious: Accel, Index, Bessemer
Focus on workflow replacement, not workflow assistance. Users want AI to complete entire processes, not just help with steps.
💡 Build end-to-end automation for specific use cases rather than general-purpose AI tools
— Sequoia Capital
ROI calculations must show >10x productivity gains to overcome enterprise inertia and budget allocation delays
💡 Create detailed ROI calculators and offer pilot programs with guaranteed outcomes
— Bessemer Venture Partners
Don't build your own foundation models unless you have $100M+ and specific domain advantages. Focus on application layer.
💡 Use best-in-class foundation models via APIs and differentiate on data, workflow integration, and user experience
— Greylock Partners
Pilot with fortune 500 companies first - they have budget, sustainability mandates, and can provide case studies for scale
💡 Target sustainability officers at large corporations rather than starting with smaller companies
— Kleiner Perkins
Bottom-up adoption is still king - individual developers must choose to use your tool before companies will pay for it
💡 Build free tier with generous usage limits and focus on developer experience over enterprise features initially
— Index Ventures
Deal volume down 15% YoY but average deal size up 30%. Quality over quantity with VCs focusing on companies with clear path to profitability within 18 months.
Series C • Lead: Lightspeed Venture Partners • Others: Google Ventures, Spark Capital, Sound Ventures
Validates continued investment in AI safety-focused foundation model development
AI Foundation ModelsSeries B • Lead: Bezos Expeditions • Others: OpenAI, Microsoft, NVIDIA
Signals major tech companies betting on humanoid robotics for manufacturing
AI RoboticsGrowth • Lead: SoftBank Vision Fund • Others: Andreessen Horowitz, T. Rowe Price
Healthcare AI reaching late-stage validation with clear revenue models
Healthcare AIAcquisition by Microsoft • Key investors: Accel, CapitalG, Sequoia
RPA market consolidating as hyperscalers acquire automation capabilities
IPO • Key investors: a16z, Coatue, Microsoft
Data infrastructure companies commanding premium valuations in AI era
Current AI infrastructure will be obsolete within 2 years due to hardware advances
Most VCs believe current AI infrastructure investments will compound over 5-10 years
Reasoning: New chip architectures and quantum computing will require completely different software stacks
Their Bet: Investing in quantum-ready software companies and novel computing paradigms