Global Equity Fundraising in H1 2026: SpaceX's Record IPO, Tech M&A Surge, and India's Pipeline

• Record capital raise: SpaceX raised $75 billion by pricing 555.6 million shares at $135 each, making it the largest initial public offering ever — roughly three times the size of the next-largest U.S. offering (Alibaba's 2014 debut) . Including the greenshoe option, total proceeds reached $86.25 billion .
• First-day market debut: Shares opened at $150 and closed at $160.95, a 19% gain, giving SpaceX a first-day market capitalization of approximately $2.2 trillion .
• First trillionaire: The IPO turned SpaceX founder Elon Musk into the world's first trillionaire . The stock soared nearly 40% from its IPO price within its first week of trading .

SpaceX's IPO single-handedly lifted global IPO volumes to $207 billion in H1 2026, more than triple the $68.6 billion raised in the same period of 2025 .

Technology Deals and the M&A Mega-Wave

Technology was the engine of equity fundraising in H1 2026:

• Tech equity issuance: The technology sector contributed approximately $302 billion of total global ECM volumes, a record for the sector in any first half . Dealogic described AI-linked equity issuance as "the defining force" in global ECM .
• Global M&A surge: A surge in $10-billion-plus "mega-deals" drove global M&A to record levels. Technology led all sectors with $649 billion of announced H1 deals . Global M&A values rose between 30% and 41% year-over-year to an estimated $2.5-$2.8 trillion . LSEG data shows the total value of announced deals hit $2.8 trillion in the first six months — the highest year-to-date total since LSEG records began in 1980 — with 47 deals above $10 billion .

PwC noted that megadeals over $5 billion now account for nearly half of total global deal value, and the broader AI economy prompted AI-related deals beyond the typical bounds of the technology sector .

India's Equity Capital Markets: Steady Growth, Massive Pipeline

India's equity markets performed strongly, though at a different scale from the US mega-deals:

• H1 2026 IPO volume: 27 companies raised ₹22,555 crore (~$2.7 billion) through IPOs in the first half of calendar 2026 . For the full Indian fiscal year FY26 (ending March 2026), companies raised a record ₹1.8 lakh crore ($20 billion) via IPOs — the highest ever in terms of terms .
• Kotak Mahindra Capital's position: Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. reclaimed the top spot (No. 1) in India's ECM league table for H1 2026 with a 13.75% market share, driven by strong deal execution .
• Forward pipeline: A massive 238 companies are planning to collectively raise an estimated ₹4.72 trillion (~$56 billion) through IPOs in the second half of 2026, with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Jio among the most anticipated marquee names .

Kotak Investment Banking has projected that Indian equity capital markets could cross ₹6 lakh crore (~$72 billion) in total issuance for calendar 2026, with billion-dollar-plus IPOs expected to account for 35% of total fundraising, led by new-age technology and consumer-facing companies .

Outlook: AI Startups and the Pipeline for Large IPOs

Market participants expect the momentum to continue. Dealogic noted a "huge wave of AI-linked equity issuance" drove the first half, and the pipeline of large, later-stage AI companies going public is expected to sustain momentum . Morgan Stanley observed that the current environment reflects "a growing pipeline of larger, later-stage companies and broader investor participation across sectors" .

In India, equity issuance could cross ₹6 lakh crore in 2026 as a whole, with domestic institutional investors emerging as a primary anchor for ECM activity, providing stability amid global volatility .