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PitchBook Benchmarks: Fresh data is here for fund returns through Q3 2025, with preliminary figures for Q4. This edition features IRR quantiles, pooled horizon returns, cash multiples, PMEs and more, sliced by strategy, vintage year and geography. See the data.
Agentic AI inflection: Agentic AI is moving beyond experimentation. Our new analyst note aims to identify where capital should be deployed as these systems transition from early adoption to core enterprise infrastructure. Read it here |
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| A message from Fidelity Private Shares |
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| Fundraising can be smoother with the basics dialed in |
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Most founders don’t struggle with fundraising because of vision or ambition. They struggle because the mechanics are unclear, fragmented, and learned too late.
The Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit equips founders with the materials they can use throughout fundraising, not just during a pitch:
- A cap table that makes sense.
- A pitch deck with a real example.
- An investor updates template you can reuse.
- And diligence materials that don’t require a last-minute scramble.
It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being prepared.
Download the Fundraise-Ready Startup Kit |
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| Defense tech VC opens 2026 near record highs |
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Defense tech opened 2026 with another huge quarter.
According to preliminary data, VC investment in the sector reached $17.8 billion in Q1, just below the $17.9 billion high set in Q2 2025 and up from $14.2 billion in Q4 2025. That puts Q1 among the strongest quarters in the dataset and adds to the case that defense tech is no longer just a cyclical pocket of venture interest but an increasingly durable funding category with sustained institutional backing.
The contrast from a few years ago is clear. In 2022 and 2023, quarterly investment generally moved between $4.7 billion and $9.5 billion, with capital deployment coming in bursts rather than in a steady pattern. There was real interest in the category, but not yet the kind of consistency that would suggest investors were broadly underwriting defense tech as a long-term allocation theme.
That started to change in 2024. Quarterly investment rose from $5.7 billion in Q1 to $8.9 billion in Q4, pointing to a buildup in conviction. Investors were increasingly backing companies tied to autonomy, national security modernization, resilient infrastructure and next-generation defense systems, even as the broader venture market stayed relatively selective.
Then came the real step-up in 2025. After Q1 came in at $7.9 billion, investment jumped to $17.9 billion in Q2 and stayed elevated at $11.3 billion in Q3 and $14.2 billion in Q4. Just as important, funding did not fall back to earlier levels, suggesting defense tech was being treated less like a narrow thematic trade and more like a strategic category.
Q1 2026 only reinforces that trend.
Shield AI raised $2 billion at a $12.7 billion valuation, comprising a $1.5 billion Series G led by Advent International and JPMorgan Chase, and $500 million in preferred equity financing from Blackstone. Saronic Technologies raised $1.75 billion in a Series D led by Kleiner Perkins, valuing the company at $9.25 billion, more than double its prior $4 billion valuation following a $600 million raise earlier last year.
Together, those two rounds accounted for $3.75 billion in a single quarter and highlight where capital is concentrating: scaled autonomy platforms with strong production narratives and clear demand signals across air and maritime environments.
If investment continues anywhere near this level, 2026 could further solidify defense tech as one of the most durable areas in venture and growth investing.
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Q1 2026 European PE Breakdown
European PE carried strong momentum into 2026 until the Iran conflict shifted the calculus.
Deal and exit activity slowed quarter-over-quarter as sponsors adopted a more cautious stance, syndicating risk and consolidating existing positions. |
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Fundraising remains subdued, but the mid-market continues to demonstrate resilience, with strong step-ups signaling that LP conviction has not disappeared; it is just becoming more selective.
Download it here |
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H2 2025 Healthcare Funds Report
Against the backdrop of a challenging year for private market fundraising, healthcare specialist managers saw capital consolidate around fewer, larger vehicles—rewarding incumbents and squeezing out emerging players.
Healthcare PE commitments reached $18.3 billion, the third-highest total on record, but the concentration was stark: Four funds accounted for 67% of commitments, while total fund count dropped 46.3% YoY. |
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In venture, life sciences posted its weakest fundraising year since 2019 by both total capital and new funds closed, though the specialty's share of total VC closings held remarkably steady—despite significant headwinds for the biotech sector.
This report unpacks the full GP fundraising landscape across healthcare PE, life sciences VC and healthtech.
Download it here |
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April 8: Join PitchBook analysts for a webinar on US leveraged loans and private credit. We'll connect the data on Q1 performance and translate it into practical implications for underwriting, portfolio positioning, and capital allocation. Register here.
April 16-17: We'll be in Nashville for the US Private Credit Industry Conference on Direct Lending. Nizar Tarhuni, our executive vice president for research & market intelligence, will discuss how private credit is increasingly financing tech and energy infrastructure, and PitchBook subsidiary Lumonic will provide a live demo. Register here.
April 28: At DealMax 2026 in Las Vegas, Hilary Wiek, our principal analyst for fund strategies, will give a talk on the rise of evergreen funds. Register here.
April 28: Join us at ILPA Forum EMEA in London, where Juan Mier, our lead analyst for fund strategies, will give a presentation on the rise of retail capital in private markets. Register here. |
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Our insights and data featured in the press:
• While the rocket ship business will be the core focus of SpaceX's stock market debut, the merger with xAI and exodus of cofounders created a "lot of distractions," said analyst Franco Granda. [Business Insider]
• California startups raised 62% of all US venture capital dollars in 2025. [Bloomberg]
• Two SpaceX rocket test launches are expected ahead of a potential June trading debut, and will be "crucial for what happens to the IPO," said analyst Franco Granda. [Bloomberg]
• "I hear from most traditional software buyers that they are not very interested in a broad push to replace SaaS vendors with internally built systems. They primarily want AI to be embedded into existing software," said analyst Derek Hernandez. [Business Insider]
• Venture funds in the US raised $47.8 billion through March. [The Wall Street Journal]
• Just five AI mega-deals accounted for nearly three-quarters of all VC investment in Q1. [Pensions & Investments] |
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