(Bloomberg) -- Private investors are pouring growing sums into artificial intelligence projects across the developing world, pushing deal volumes to record highs in the first half of 2026.
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Unlike in equity markets, where the AI boom is largely confined to South Korea and Taiwan, private capital is flowing into projects for data centers and digital infrastructure in a range of nations, including across Latin America and Africa, according to data from the Global Private Capital Association.
Flows from private equity, venture capital and private credit funds reached $8.8 billion in the first half of 2026, surpassing the total for all of 2025, the figures show. The inflows are the highest since records began in 2008.
Jeff Schlapinski, the GPCA's managing director of research, said the surge reflects private investors' recognition that "there is a durable long-run opportunity in markets outside the US."
In such countries, "persistent gaps in digital and energy infrastructure will serve pent-up demand from businesses and consumers for basic services," he added.
Prominent investments in the first six months of the year include Indian data center firm Nxtra Data Ltd. raising $1 billion from investors including the Carlyle Group, and Yotta Data Services announcing a $2 billion investment in Nvidia chips for an AI computing hub in India. Moonshot AI, the company behind the Kimi chatbot, secured more than $700 million in a financing round at the start of the year, part of a wave of Chinese firms pulling in private capital.
Those deals may have set the stage for an even higher tally in the second half of 2026. In July, Apollo Global Management Inc. committed as much as $20 billion to infrastructure projects in Mexico, including data center financing. Kuaishou Technology's Kling AI secured commitments for $2.8 billion from investors including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Abu Dhabi's BlueFive Capital.
The investments highlight how the AI boom is spreading beyond Asia's chip manufacturing hubs into emerging nations that are either rich in critical metals or have manufacturing capacity and tech startups. The World Bank this week urged poorer nations to adopt AI tools, tailoring them to their needs as a way to boost growth.