What Changed vs Previous Period
The AI Builder's Intelligence Brief
What $36.5B in AI funding reveals about where the industry is heading.
Generated: March 1, 2026
February 2026 saw $36.5B deployed across 120 deals. The average deal size was $304M, with Waymo leading at $16.0B. GenAI adoption stands at 1%. Natural-Language-to-Code remains the dominant build pattern at 10% prevalence. Unknown captured 99% of funding.
Vertical Data Moats is declining (-79pp) — consider migrating to emerging alternatives.
Declining patterns signal ecosystem migration; reassess before lock-in costs rise.
Agentic Architectures is declining (-55pp) — consider migrating to emerging alternatives.
Declining patterns signal ecosystem migration; reassess before lock-in costs rise.
Prioritize GTM depth in Unknown — it captured 99% of funding this period.
Funding concentration indicates where budgets and urgency are strongest right now.
Information Technology & Enterprise Software share fell 72pp — stress-test demand assumptions before committing roadmap capacity.
Large negative share shifts can signal spending pullbacks or preference rotation.
Funding contracted 23% — extend your runway and prioritize unit economics.
Capital contraction rewards capital efficiency; unit economics become the investor pitch.
| Metric | Value | vs Prev |
|---|---|---|
| Total Funding | $36.5B | -23% |
| Total Deals | 120 | -56% |
| Average Deal Size | $304.1M | +74% |
| Median Deal Size | $15.4M | — |
| Largest Deal | $16.0B (Waymo) | — |
| GenAI Adoption Rate | 1% | -46pp |
| Pattern | Prevalence | Startups |
|---|---|---|
| Natural-Language-to-Code | 10% | 8 |
| Vertical Data Moats | 10% | 8 |
| Agentic Architectures | 10% | 8 |
| Micro-model Meshes | 9% | 7 |
| Continuous-learning Flywheels | 9% | 7 |
| Knowledge Graphs | 9% | 7 |
| RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) | 9% | 7 |
| Guardrail-as-LLM | 9% | 7 |
#1 Signal
Natural-Language-to-Code
Niche at 10% — differentiation opportunity
#2 Signal
Vertical Data Moats
Niche at 10% — differentiation opportunity
#3 Signal
Agentic Architectures
Niche at 10% — differentiation opportunity
| Vertical | Funding |
|---|---|
| Unknown | $36.2B |
| Information Technology & Enterprise Software | $128.8M |
| other | $60.2M |
| Government & Public Sector | $39.0M |
| Media & Entertainment | $12.7M |
| Industrial & Manufacturing | $4.0M |
| Legal | $3.0M |
| Financial Services | $1.8M |
AI/ML Platforms
Information Technology & Enterprise Software
$127.9M
68% share (-4pp)
GovTech
Government & Public Sector
$39.0M
21% share (+21pp)
Streaming & Content Platforms
Media & Entertainment
$11.0M
6% share (+6pp)
Supply Chain/Logistics Tech
Industrial & Manufacturing
$4.0M
2% share (+2pp)
AI Legal Assistant
Legal
$3.0M
2% share (+2pp)
FinTech (Payments & Banking)
Financial Services
$1.8M
1% share (+1pp)
Creators Economy/Platforms
Media & Entertainment
$1.7M
1% share (+1pp)
Data Management/Analytics
Information Technology & Enterprise Software
$840K
0% share
The Insight: Late-stage dominates dollar volume (49%), but seed deals dominate count (36 deals). The market is bifurcating: mega-rounds for proven winners, active seed for exploration.
| # | Company | Funding |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Waymo | $16.0B |
| 2 | AI Seed Trends | $9.0B |
| 3 | Wayve | $1.2B |
| 4 | Sequoia | $1.0B |
| 5 | David Silver ex Deepmind | $1.0B |
| 6 | Cerebras Systems | $1.0B |
| 7 | Humanoid | $935.0M |
| 8 | ElevenLabs | $500.0M |
| 9 | MatX | $500.0M |
| 10 | Build the Ultimate LLM Chip | $500.0M |
| Region | Deals | Total Funding |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 43 | $19.5B |
| Unknown | 46 | $16.5B |
| Asia | 13 | $243.8M |
| Europe | 15 | $207.9M |
| Oceania | 3 | $14.6M |
$0
California alone (0% of all funding)
| Investor | Deals | Deployed |
|---|
| Investor | Investment | Company |
|---|
| Investor | Startups | Lead Edges |
|---|---|---|
| Sequoia Capital | 6 | 6 |
| Lightspeed Venture Partners | 5 | 5 |
| Y Combinator | 5 | 5 |
| Andreessen Horowitz | 4 | 4 |
| Ant Group | 4 | 4 |
| General Catalyst | 4 | 4 |
| 8VC | 3 | 3 |
| CRV | 3 | 3 |
| Founder | Startups |
|---|---|
| Dila Ekrem | 1 |
| Duc-Trung Nguyen | 1 |
| Giacomo Bruno | 1 |
| Hakan Timur | 1 |
| Mustafa Çakır | 1 |
| Noah Morris | 1 |
| Ozan Yurtsever | 1 |
| Soner Abay | 1 |
Waymo secured $16.0B in Series D, making it the largest deal this period.
Risk
Execution risk in a competitive market.
Key Takeaway
Watch how Waymo scales its core technology advantage.
1. Follow the funding signals
$36.5B deployed this period suggests strong investor conviction in AI infrastructure plays.
How to apply: Align your pitch with funded patterns — investors are validating these bets.
2. Pattern adoption matters
Natural-Language-to-Code at 10% adoption signals market readiness.
How to apply: Evaluate whether adopting leading patterns accelerates your time-to-market.
