Data

A spate of billion-dollar acquisitions pushed up the dollar value of exits in August to the third-highest figure recorded in 2026 thus far.

The dollar value of deals involving a corporate investor rose to $21bn in August, up from $7bn a year ago as large IT, industrial and energy deals boosted what is typically a quiet month.

Defence sector startups are seeing the investment dollars pour but that alone is not enough to win government contracts. This is where strategic investors on the cap table come in.

Five exits in the $1bn plus category helped push up the total dollar value of exits in an otherwise quiet month.

While AI technologies continued to get the largest share of funding dollars, the month saw a higher than usual amount of dollars flowing into industrial, energy and consumer tech.

After a buoyant first quarter, the dollar value of startup funding rounds backed by oil and gas companies fell significantly, with investment focus shifting away from cleantech to core energy operations.

At the halfway mark of 2026, the disclosed dollar value of corporate-backed exits is nearly double the total value raised in 2025.

As M&A rebounds, corporations are increasingly looking to acquire companies they already back through their VC arms.

Q2 2026 marked another milestone for corporate venture capital, with record funding levels masking a market increasingly shaped by AI mega-rounds and fewer, larger deals.

The UK is keen to increase the number of companies that stay in the country to grow and scale. To achieve this, it will need the support of domestic corporate investors.

Exits for corporate-backed startups reached their highest monthly count since January 2024, even as total value halved from April, pointing to weaker average returns.