AI Investment Landscape: Mega-Rounds, DeepSeek, and Growing Scrutiny

Q2 2026 AI VC activity shows extreme concentration (89% of dollars in 6% of deals) with 37 new unicorns. DeepSeek leads at $50B+ valuation, pausing fundraising due to compute gap concerns. US tech giants face investor scrutiny over massive AI capex. Dell Capital emphasizes distribution as key moat. The 'curse of capital' and efficiency over scale are emerging themes.