Global corporate funding in the smart-grid sector rose 36% year-on-year to $1.9 billion in the first half of 2026, driven by a sharp jump in debt and public-market financing, even as venture-capital investment declined.
Corporate funding was raised across 41 deals in H1 2026, compared with $1.4 billion across 48 transactions in the corresponding period last year, indicating larger average deal sizes despite fewer transactions, according to Mercom Capital Group.
The sharpest increase came from debt and public-market financing, which surged 267% to $1.1 billion across seven deals, from $300 million across the same number of transactions in H1 2025. The rise made debt financing a major driver of the overall increase in capital flowing into smart-grid companies.
Venture-capital funding, however, moved in the opposite direction, declining 35% to $711 million across 34 deals, from $1.1 billion across 41 transactions a year earlier. Smart Grid Communications attracted the highest VC investment, followed by Smart Charging and Distributed Generation and Integration.
SPAN led the largest VC transactions with $163 million, besides $75 million from Eaton, followed by Verse at $54 million, metiundo at $48 million and InCharge Energy at $46 million, the report showed.
Consolidation also accelerated during the period. Corporate mergers and acquisitions increased 75% to seven transactions in H1 2026, compared with four deals during the first half of 2025.
The bigger shift was visible in fresh investment pools targeting the sector. Five new cleantech and smart-grid funds worth approximately $8.5 billion were announced in H1 2026, a 204% increase from $2.8 billion across three funds in the year-ago period.