Startup Trends: The rise of the mega-round: Companies raise billions again and again

A billion-dollar fundraise once marked an exceptional moment in a private company’s development. In 2026, it is becoming a more familiar milestone and, for a select group of companies, a repeat achievement.

According to Forge data, 23 companies listed on the Forge marketplace have raised at least $1 billion in a funding round so far in 2026, compared with 17 during all of 2025. Within this group, serial mega-round fundraisers stand out. These are the companies that have completed more than one funding round of $1 billion or more during 2025 and 2026.

For private market investors, repeat mega-rounds can offer insight into where institutional investors continue to commit substantial capital. They also raise a question worth watching: can companies translate that capital into durable revenue growth and stronger competitive positions?

Below, we examine repeat mega-round fundraisers, which occurred across varied sectors.

OpenAI, financing AI at an extraordinary scale

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, OpenAI develops the AI models behind ChatGPT and tools for developers and businesses. Its fundraising illustrates how quickly the capital requirements of leading AI companies have grown.

In March 2025, OpenAI announced $40 billion in funding at a $300 billion post-money valuation.¹ One year later, it announced the close of a round with $122 billion in committed capital at an $852 billion post-money valuation.² The 2026 round was anchored by Amazon, NVIDIA and SoftBank, with participation from Microsoft and other investors.

In its March 2026 announcement, OpenAI also reported generating $2 billion in monthly revenue, reflecting the commercial scale supporting its investment in research, products and computing infrastructure. For investors, the company offers a particularly large-scale example of the relationship between expanding adoption and expanding capital needs.

OpenAI’s last price per share was $687.69 as of its latest fundraise in March of 2026.

Anthropic, repeated backing for enterprise AI

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in San Francisco, Anthropic develops Claude, an AI platform used for coding, analysis and other business tasks.

Its serial mega-round fundraising spans both years. In March 2025, the company announced a $3.5 billion Series E at a $61.5 billion post-money valuation, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.³ In September 2025, it announced a $13 billion Series F at a $183 billion post-money valuation, led by ICONIQ and co-led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Lightspeed.⁴

Anthropic followed those financings with a $30 billion Series G in February 2026 at a $380 billion post-money valuation and a $65 billion Series H in May at a $965 billion post-money valuation.⁵ GIC and Coatue led the February financing, while Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital led the May round.⁶ Together, these four announced mega-rounds totaled $111.5 billion across 2025 and 2026.

Alongside the May financing, Anthropic said its revenue run rate had crossed $47 billion and that the funding would support research, computing capacity, products and partnerships. For investors, four mega-rounds in less than two years highlight the scale of institutional backing for the company, while making enterprise adoption and the cost of serving that demand central factors to watch.

Anthropic’s last price per share was $589.01 as of its May 2026 fundraise.

Anduril, capital for defense technology and manufacturing

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, Anduril develops autonomous systems, sensors and software for defense and national security.

Its funding history includes a $2.5 billion Series G in June 2025 at a $30.5 billion valuation and a $5 billion Series H in May 2026 at a $61 billion valuation. Notable backers include Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital.

The company’s commercial growth has accompanied its fundraising. In May, Anduril reported that revenue more than doubled to $2.2 billion in 2025 and that its workforce had nearly doubled over the preceding year.⁷ For investors, its repeat mega-rounds highlight the resources required to move defense technology into production and deliver it at scale.

As of November 6, 2026, Anduril’s Forge Price™ was $140.54, implying a valuation of approximately $124.34 billion.

Databricks, building the foundation for enterprise AI

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Francisco, Databricks provides a platform that helps businesses organize, analyze and use their data to build AI applications.

In February 2026, the company announced approximately $5 billion in equity financing at a $134 billion valuation, separately from approximately $2 billion in additional debt capacity.⁸ In August, it announced another $5 billion strategic funding round at a $190 billion valuation, led by Coatue alongside investors including Blackstone, MGX and T. Rowe Price.⁹

The August announcement also reported a revenue run rate of more than $7 billion and year-over-year growth exceeding 80%. Databricks is investing in products including Lakebase, its database for AI agents, and Genie, which helps employees interact with business data. Its repeated access to capital gives investors a way to examine how enterprise AI spending extends beyond model developers to the platforms supporting their use.

As of November 6, 2026, Databricks’ Forge Price™ was $288.40, implying a valuation of approximately $216.58 billion.

Crusoe, funding the physical infrastructure behind AI

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Crusoe develops AI infrastructure spanning energy, data centers and cloud computing.

In October 2025, it announced the initial closing of an anticipated $1.375 billion Series E at an expected valuation above $10 billion.¹⁰ In September 2026, it announced the initial closing of an anticipated $3.9 billion Series F at a $30.9 billion post-money valuation.¹¹ The later round was co-led by Atreides Management, Mubadala Capital and Valor Equity Partners, with additional backing from investors including NVIDIA.

With the September financing, Crusoe reported more than $140 billion in total contracted value across its platform and over six gigawatts of gross contracted capacity. Those figures illustrate the scale of its infrastructure commitments. For investors, execution across construction, energy sourcing and cloud services will help determine how those commitments translate into business results.

As of November 6, 2026, Crusoe’s Forge Price™ was $223.51, implying a valuation of approximately $26.61 billion.

Reflection AI, an early startup attracting substantial capital

Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Reflection AI develops AI systems for practical user problems and pursues an open-model strategy.

It raised approximately $2 billion in October 2025 at an $8 billion valuation, followed by a $2.5 billion Series C in April 2026 at a $27.5 billion post-money valuation. Notable investors across its rounds include NVIDIA, Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and JPMorgan Chase.

Its infrastructure ambitions have expanded alongside that funding. In June 2026, Reflection signed an agreement to access NVIDIA GB300 chips and supporting hardware at SpaceX’s Colossus 2 data center near Memphis, Tennessee. Under the reported terms, Reflection agreed to pay $150 million per month beginning July 1, 2026, through 2029, potentially totaling $6.3 billion if the agreement runs its full term.¹²

The additional capacity supports Reflection’s ambition to develop advanced open AI models whose underlying parameters are available for others to use and adapt. For investors, the agreement illustrates how mega-round funding can support access to the infrastructure needed to compete in AI.

Reflection AI’s last price per share was $83.76 as of its latest funding round in April 2026.

Kalshi, three billion-dollar rounds in less than a year

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in New York, Kalshi operates an exchange where participants trade contracts tied to real-world outcomes.

Its repeat fundraising includes a $1 billion Series E in November 2025 at an $11 billion post-money valuation, a nearly $1 billion Series F in May 2026 at a $22.12 billion post-money valuation, followed by another $1 billion Series G in October at a $40 billion post-money valuation. Investors in these rounds included Paradigm, Coatue, Wellington and Sequoia Capital.

The October financing supports Kalshi’s expansion from contracts tied to specific outcomes, such as elections or sporting events, into a wider range of financial products. In 2026, the company introduced perpetual futures, contracts that let traders take positions on price movements without a fixed expiration date. The move brings Kalshi into more direct competition with established exchanges such as CME Group and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange.¹³

For investors, this strategy could broaden Kalshi’s customer base and sources of trading fees beyond its original prediction-market business. Its progress will depend on attracting sustained trading activity across these products while navigating competition and the regulatory requirements governing its markets.

As of November 6, 2026, Kalshi’s Forge Price™ was $970.53, implying a valuation of approximately $36.40 billion.

Base Power, billion-dollar backing for distributed energy

Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Base Power installs home batteries that provide backup electricity while helping support the grid.

The company raised a $1 billion Series C in October 2025 at a $4 billion post-money valuation and another $1 billion Series D in August 2026 at a $13 billion post-money valuation. Notable backers include Addition, Ribbit Capital, Valor Equity Partners and JPMorgan Chase.

Alongside the August round, Base Power launched a U.S.-made home battery and said production had begun at its Austin facility. It also reported utility partnerships representing more than 200 megawatts of capacity.¹⁴ For investors, Base Power broadens the mega-round story beyond software, indicating that substantial capital is also flowing toward companies building physical infrastructure to address rising electricity demand and grid reliability.

Base Power’s last price per share was $34.45 as of its latest funding round in August of 2026.

Investor takeaway

The rise of serial mega-round fundraisers shows how much capital some private companies can attract as they build products, expand infrastructure and pursue larger markets. Repeated institutional backing can signal continued conviction in those ambitions. It also gives investors a reason to examine whether revenue, customer adoption and operating performance are keeping pace with the funding.