$4.3 Billion Raised in 14 Largest Global Financing Deals in H1 2026, Prediction Markets Lead
In the first half of 2026, the 14 largest global financing deals raised a total of $4.3 billion, with prediction markets, AI, and payment sectors attracting the most capital.
Among them, the prediction market platform Kalshi topped the list with $1.2 billion in financing, followed by Polymarket with $600 million, together accounting for over 40% of the total amount raised by the top 14 deals.
In the AI sector, Replit, Exa AI, and OpenRouter secured $400 million, $250 million, and $113 million respectively, while in the blockchain sector, Canton Network, Arc, and Morpho raised $355 million, $222 million, and $175 million respectively. Projects in payments and RWA also made the list.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
The prediction market platforms have previously experienced rapid growth driven by political events in 2024-2025. The large financings of Kalshi and Polymarket continue their transition from niche tools to mainstream financial infrastructure, similar to the early financing cycles of crypto exchanges.
In terms of capital flow, VC funds are concentrated in prediction markets, AI infrastructure, and blockchain RWA, focusing resources on high-certainty application scenarios, motivated by capturing the benefits of regulatory easing and actual adoption. Strategically, the focus has shifted from conceptual investments to cash flow-generating sectors.
Similar to the financing boom during the DeFi summer of 2021, this move places the first half of 2026 in a concentrated phase of capital transitioning from early experimentation to scalable business model validation in the intersection of AI and crypto.
Essentially, this represents capital concentration, with top financing accelerating industry reshuffling towards prediction markets and AI. The mechanism involves large funds reinforcing network effects and data advantages, shifting pricing power in fintech and blockchain sectors towards a few leading platforms.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Capital does not chase stories; it chases certainty in cash flow and network effects.
Prediction markets sell probabilities, AI sells productivity, payments sell closed loops, and the winner takes all.
The financing champions of the first half of the year often signal a reshaping of the industry landscape in the second half.