This report provides an overview of new venture capital funds, CVCs and accelerators that have announced new capital to invest in early-stage startups during June 2026.

Monthly Report

June 2026 saw a robust activity in early-stage funding, with a total of 91 new funds identified raised $14.1B.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure continues to dominate investment interest, followed by generative AI and climate technology. The United States remains the leading hub for these investments, though the United Kingdom and several Asian and European countries also show significant activity. Several large funds, including Sky Factory and Menlo Ventures XVII, have made substantial commitments, indicating continued confidence in the early-stage ecosystem.

Full details of all funds and people live at RAISE.FUSION-42

SECTORS

AI-related sectors, particularly AI Infrastructure and Generative AI, are at the forefront of early-stage investments, reflecting the ongoing technological advancements and market demand in artificial intelligence. Climate Tech and Clean Energy also feature prominently, highlighting a growing focus on sustainable solutions. Traditional sectors like Agtech, Enterprise Software, and Digital Health continue to attract significant capital, indicating sustained innovation across diverse industries.

GEO

The United States overwhelmingly leads in the number of new early-stage funds, reinforcing its position as a global innovation hub. The United Kingdom is a strong second, with notable activity in supporting emerging fund managers and specific tech sectors. Countries like China, Japan, and Israel are also significant players, particularly in advanced technology and AI-focused investments.

Notable Large Fund Launches

Several funds with substantial capital commitments were launched in June 2026. Notably, Sky Factory by Dreame Technology and Menlo Ventures XVII stand out with multi-billion dollar funds, indicating a strong appetite for significant investments in promising early-stage ventures. These large funds are poised to make a considerable impact on the growth and development of startups in their respective focus areas.

June 2026 demonstrates a vibrant and dynamic early-stage investment landscape, heavily influenced by advancements in AI and a growing commitment to climate technology. While the United States continues to be a dominant force, global participation is robust, with significant contributions from the UK, China, Japan, and other nations. The launch of numerous large funds underscores a healthy capital environment for innovative startups, particularly those addressing critical technological and environmental challenges.

For the ❤️ of startups

✌🏼 & 💙
Derek


Thank you for reading. If you liked it, share it with your friends, colleagues and everyone interested in the startup Investor ecosystem.

If you've got suggestions, an article, research, your tech stack, or a job listing you want featured, just let me know! I'm keen to include it in the upcoming edition.

Please let me know what you think of it, love a feedback loop 🙏🏼

• ❤️ Love it, keep them coming!

• 👍 Great, always a good read.

• 😊 Enjoyable, but let’s see some variety.

• 👎 Okay, seen better.

• 🛑 Get a different job.
  
  Subscribe below and follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter to never miss an update. 

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Read more

Subscribe now

AI Agents Launchpad: Build, Deploy & Scale in Hours

Whether you’re solo-founder, or leading a dev team, embedding AI often feels like a six-month project. This series shatters that myth. Over the next seven posts, we’ll explore six families of ready-made AI agents—Starter, Advanced, Game-Playing, Multi-Agent Teams, Voice AI, MCP, and RAG—each designed to solve real problems in hours, not quarters.

Each article will deep-dive into one category: code repo, deployment tips and real-world use cases. Subscribe to this newsletter so you don’t miss the walkthroughs, and join the conversation on Telegram if you hit any snags.

*This series is available to F42+ members.

Why AI Agents Matter

• Speed to Value: Prototype features in a day, validate with real users and iterate.

• Minimal Overhead: No bespoke ML pipelines; these bots plug straight into your existing stack.

• Business Impact: From automated lead-gen to self-optimising workflows, deliver tangible ROI fast.

Series at a Glance

1. 🌱 Starter AI Agents
   • Add smart features—podcasts, data-analysis dashboards or meme generators—with a handful of lines.

2. 🚀 Advanced AI Agents
   • Dive deeper: automated market research, system-architecture blueprints and financial coaching.

3. 🎮 Autonomous Game‑Playing Agents
   • Gamify engagement or simulate decision-making with reinforcement-learning demos.

4. 🤝 Multi‑agent Teams
   • Orchestrate specialised sub-agents for end-to-end workflows—competitor intelligence, hiring funnels and more.

5. 🗣️ Voice AI Agents
   • Build hands-free interfaces: audio tours, call-centre bots or IVRs powered by ASR + TTS + LLMs.

6. 🔗 MCP AI Agents
   • Bridge LLMs to your tools—browsers, GitHub, Notion, travel APIs—via natural-language prompts.

7. 📚 RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation)
   • Fuse LLM power with vector stores and document search for fact-driven, up-to-date answers.

For the ❤️ of startups

Share Fusion42 by DeReK WaTSoN

Thank you for reading. If you liked it, share it with your friends, colleagues and everyone interested in the startup Investor ecosystem.

If you've got suggestions, an article, research, your tech stack, or a job listing you want featured, just let me know! I'm keen to include it in the upcoming edition.

Please let me know what you think of it, love a feedback loop 🙏🏼

• ❤️ Love it, keep them coming!

• 👍 Great, always a good read.

• 😊 Enjoyable, but let’s see some variety.

• 👎 Okay, seen better.

• 🛑 Get a different job.
  
  Subscribe below and follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter to never miss an update. 

Subscribe now

For the ❤️ of startups

✌🏼 & 💙
Derek

Real Metrics (Indicators of Strong Traction)

1. Revenue – Monthly / Annual Recurring Revenue (MRR / ARR) (Both B2B and B2C):
Paying customers generating recurring revenue.
B2B: Multi-year contracts, ARR growth, and strong retention from enterprise clients.
B2C: Subscription growth, average revenue per user (ARPU), and improving cohort retention.

2. Contracted ARR (B2B):
Signed agreements for recurring revenue that haven’t yet been realised.
Clear activation timelines and revenue schedules.
Strong conversion rates from pipeline to contracts.

3. Paid Proof of Concepts (PoCs) (B2B):
Short-term, paid trials with potential customers.
High conversion rates from PoCs to long-term contracts.
Evidence of ROI or efficiency gains reported by customers.

4. Trials with Engagement Metrics (Both):
Active product usage that shows genuine interest and potential value.
B2B: Number of users or seats actively testing the product, and the adoption of key features.
B2C: Trial-to-paid conversion rates, along with strong daily or weekly active usage.

5. Letters of Intent (LOIs) with Credibility (B2B):
Non-binding agreements that indicate serious interest from prospective customers.

Read more

🔄 A Shift in VC Trends.

The 2023 PitchBook report states a 38% decrease in active VC investors. This is measured as existing funds that made less than 2 investments in 2023 and goes on to start talking about Zombie funds, all pretty negative.

🌧️ Beyond the Downturn.

The decline in VC activity isn't necessarily a crisis. The report's data doesn't give a clear reason as to the underlying status of the 38% of funds?

➡️ VCs are being cautious, absolutely.

➡️ ️ Waiting for better times to invest due to market uncertainties, bloody right.

➡️ Some have pretty much been wiped out…. Mmm yes, if they have marked their books correctly.

🤔 But 38%, as we are led to believe are gone? no, not at all.

Share Fusion42 by DeReK WaTSoN

🕰️ A Quick Historical Snapshot.

VC trends reflect broader economic cycles. The late 1990s dot-com boom saw VC investments peak at $100 billion in the U.S. by 2000 (NVCA). Post-bubble, figures plummeted to $19 billion by 2003. The 2008 financial crisis further impacted VC, with investments falling from $30.8 billion in 2008 to $20.6 billion in 2009 (PwC & NVCA). The 2010s, however, witnessed a resurgence, driven by tech advancements, with VC funding exceeding $130 billion by 2018 (NVCA).

This history underlines VC's adaptability, with the current 38% decrease in active investors in 2023 (PitchBook) seen as part of ongoing cycles. Such insights are vital for navigating the VC domain.

🎯 Strategic Investment.

This shift shows it is less about quick investments, with more consideration to careful planning. This indicates a phase of strategic patience rather than a downturn, focusing on startups with clear profitability paths.

🚀 Founders' Approach:

For founders, it's crucial to identify active investors, for the top of the funnel focus on those recently announced, as they are in their harvest period and deploying to new opportunities.

What do you think, what is the right strat for finding and reaching investors ?

Leave a comment

Thank you for reading. If you liked it, share it with your friends, colleagues and everyone interested in the startup Investor ecosystem.

If you've got suggestions, an article, research, your tech stack, or a job listing you want featured, just let me know! I'm keen to include it in the upcoming edition.

Please let me know what you think of it, love a feedback loop 🙏🏼

• ❤️ Love it, keep them coming!

• 👍 Great, always a good read.

• 😊 Enjoyable, but let’s see some variety.

• 👎 Okay, seen better.

• 🛑 Get a different job.
  
  Subscribe below and follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter to never miss an update. 

Subscribe now

For the ❤️ of startups

✌🏼 & 💙
Derek