Historic VC surge driven by AI mega-rounds; cross-border M&A risk escalates; venture debt diversifies

February 2026’s ~$189B VC spike remains baseline; OpenAI $110B round confirmed. Anthropic $30B+ raise at $900B+ valuation surpasses OpenAI. China Q1 AI funding 110B yuan (+185% YoY). Manus-Meta deal forced unwind by China adds new regulatory risk. Chinese AI talent travel restrictions further escalate sovereignty concerns. Late-stage financings include Legora $550M, Replit $400M, Render $100M; Cursor ~$50B unverified. Venture debt surged to $69B (+12%), shifting from pure software to healthcare, clean energy, and asset-heavy startups. Implication: exit concentration and regulatory volatility increase; financing diversification beyond SaaS.