Global Gold | 2026 Mega Deals | $16B @ $126B
Mega Deals continue in 2026 with Waymo's $16B Series D @ $126B Post-Money
2025-2026 Mega Deals
Jan 9, 2026: Global Gold | Why the 2025 VC Mega-Deal Concentration Reinforces the Case for International Investing
“AI megadeals are absorbing a massive share of total U.S. venture dollars…”
“The market is creating a feedback loop where capital follows brand-name companies (OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks), attention consolidates and early stage appetite narrows.”
“When the world’s deepest VC market becomes structurally concentrated, investors risk overweighting the same narratives, the same founders, and the same technology clusters. Meanwhile, entire ecosystems full of capable founders solving real, painful, locally-relevant problems, receive a fraction of the attention and capital.”
“Geographic diversification is simply good portfolio construction. It broadens exposure, reduces correlation and it increases the probability of discovering undervalued innovation.”
Feb 2, 2026: Waymo | Accelerating our global growth: Waymo raises $16 billion investment round
“Waymo enters a new era.”
“This capital underscores that the age of autonomous mobility at scale has arrived”
“In addition to Alphabet’s strong sustained support as our majority investor, the financing was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital, and included significant investments from Andreessen Horowitz and Mubadala Capital as well as Bessemer Venture Partners, Silver Lake, Tiger Global, and T. Rowe Price. Additional investors included BDT & MSD Partners, CapitalG, Fidelity Management & Research Company, GV, Kleiner Perkins, Perry Creek Capital, and Temasek”
“[W]e have demonstrated that our technology is not just the most advanced manifestation of AI in the physical world, but a vital service that people have come to rely on in their daily lives.”
Feb 2, 2026: BVP | Waymo drives the next chapter of autonomous mobility
“[W]ith manual services being fully automated by AI, we’ve seen Waymo go the extra mile in the global autonomy market”
“We believe we’re now at the precipice of another world-changing transformation”
“Waymo championed advances across the AI technology stack, impacted generational shifts in consumer behavior, gained hard-earned operational learnings across cities, and informed the emerging regulatory recognition of the safety and strategic importance of autonomy.”
“It’s a privilege to partner on an opportunity 17 years in the making”
Prompt
[
{
"id": "hannah_k_02_systemic_resilience",
"theme": "global_governance_anti_fragility",
"parameters": {
"system_type": "interconnected_global_policy_framework",
"failure_trigger": "nationalism_driven_cooperation_failure",
"failure_impact": "widespread_humanitarian_crisis_escalation",
"reconstruction_protocol": "agape_infused_diplomatic_architecture",
"highlighted_feature": "cross_cultural_empathy_pathways_illumination",
"post_reconstruction_metric": "collective_action_effectiveness_index"
}
},
{
"id": "hannah_k_07_ai_ethics_augmentation",
"theme": "ai_ethical_framework_augmentation",
"parameters": {
"robot_model": "autonomous_decision_making_AI_MkX",
"damage_type": "algorithmic_bias_from_unethical_data",
"performance_degradation": "discriminatory_outcome_system_failure_imminent",
"repair_layer": "agape_infused_ethical_alignment_skin",
"visual_signifier": "bias_detection_signals_as_learning_channels",
"operational_enhancement": "human_values_adaptive_decision_making"
}
},
{
"id": "hannah_k_08_societal_healing",
"theme": "global_polarization_reconciliation",
"parameters": {
"societal_unit": "deeply_polarized_global_community_network",
"fracture_cause": "misinformation_identity_grievance_amplification",
"division_metric": "intergroup_trust_level_near_zero",
"reconciliation_process": "shared_humanity_narrative_weaving_protocol",
"highlighted_connections": "compassionate_dialogue_pathways_illumination",
"outcome_state": "collaborative_global_innovation_ecosystem"
}
}
]