Venture capital (VC) funding activity in China increased strongly in early 2026, marked by a sharp rise in dealmaking momentum and a solid increase in funding value. The total number of VC deals announced year-on-year (YoY) grew by 99% during January-February 2026 while the corresponding deals value more than doubled registering a YoY growth of 159%, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “China’s performance in early 2026 signals a meaningful improvement in VC market activity and the latest figures suggest that investor appetite for executing transactions in China strengthened materially.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Financial Deals Database revealed that the surge in deal count translated into a significant gain in global standing on deal flow, with China’s share of worldwide VC deal volume rising to 28% in January-February 2026, up from 15% a year earlier.

In fact, China moved from being a clear second contributor in global deal count to matching the US in terms of share. A near-doubling in transaction volume pushed China’s share of global deals to around the same level as the US, pointing to a broad improvement in funding cadence.

However, despite the strong growth rate, China’s share of global VC value stood at 5%, down from 10% in the comparable period of 2025. However, this decline does not indicate weakening domestic fundraising; rather, it reflects the extraordinary surge (8x) in US funding value that disproportionately lifted the global total.

The US experienced a slight decline in deal volume but an exceptional surge in deal value in January-February 2026, driven largely by a single outsized February transaction (OpenAI’s $110 billion fundraising). This elevated the US share of global value to an overwhelming level and reduced the relative weight of other markets including China even where local funding conditions improved.

Bose concludes: “In other words, China grew in absolute funding momentum, but the global value expanded far more sharply, compressing China’s relative contribution. And it would be interesting to see if the momentum sustains throughout the year as well.”

Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain.