Major venture capital players ramped up investments in AI startups last quarter. General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, and Y Combinator led the pack, with big checks fueling headline-grabbing deals. See which firms made the most moves.
AI startups remain the talk of the tech world, but when it comes to writing the biggest checks, a select group of established US venture firms continues to lead the charge. According to Crunchbase data, General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz emerged as the most active US venture and lead investors in the second quarter of 2026, while those backing Anthropic’s record-breaking round topped the list of highest spenders.
To better understand which investors were busiest last quarter, Crunchbase compiled several rankings: most active venture backers, lead investors, top spenders, and prolific seed dealmakers. These lists reveal that a handful of familiar names are driving much of the action, especially in the AI sector.
Among post-seed investors, General Catalyst led with 39 deals, followed by Y Combinator with 34 and Andreessen Horowitz with 28. Notably, more than two-thirds of these investments targeted AI-focused startups. Y Combinator’s frequent nonlead follow-on investments in its accelerator graduates helped secure its high ranking.
When focusing on lead investors in venture rounds, Andreessen Horowitz took the top spot with 17 deals. Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst tied for second, each leading or co-leading 13 rounds. At least 12 investors led or co-led six or more venture rounds in Q2, underscoring the competitive landscape among top firms.
However, the firms leading the most rounds were not always those deploying the most capital. The highest-spending investors were those involved in Anthropic’s massive $50 billion Series H round in May, which included 10 co-lead investors. Google led a separate $10 billion tranche, while Amazon led a $5 billion tranche. In total, 23 investors led or co-led US venture rounds valued at $2 billion or more during the quarter.
Seed-stage activity remained robust, with Y Combinator maintaining its lead by backing at least 225 seed, pre-seed, or convertible note rounds for new startups in Q2. Antler and LvlUp Ventures followed, but at a significant distance. The top 20 most active seed investors were ranked based on deal count, highlighting the continued appetite for early-stage bets.
Despite concerns about market cooling, the data shows that startup funding activity remains strong, with high deal volumes and major rounds across all stages. The momentum seen in Q2 suggests that investor enthusiasm for AI and tech startups is far from slowing down. For a deeper look at how multi-tiered funding rounds are shaping AI startup valuations, see this analysis of how founders are leveraging split rounds to secure billion-dollar valuations.
