Investments in climate tech venture capital increased 55 per cent year-on-year to $26.1 billion in the first half of 2026, according to investment tracker Currence, which also reported that the total number of deals more than doubled compared with the same period last year. Much of the growth was fuelled by investments in low-carbon data centres as the need for artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure grows.

Low-carbon data centre developers received 34 per cent of all funding across climate tech ventures, a significant increase from 3 per cent in the previous year. The top three contributors to investment in the sector were DayOne's $4.5 billion Series C round and Nscale's $2 billion Series C round, which together accounted for about one-quarter of total investment.

The ‘built environment’ segment grew more than eightfold, even as it now includes energy and sustainable energy-focused data centre developers. Currence has developed a broader definition of climate tech, one that excludes traditional facilities and chip manufacturers from the category.

The report highlights that amid growing competition in data centre development, the source of electricity, known as the ‘route to power’, is as important as the construction of the facility itself.

Data centres are not the only area attracting investment. As AI's long-term energy needs are expected to justify current valuations, investors are increasingly investing in early-stage nuclear startups. At the same time, investment in Earth observation has tripled, with developers seeking real-world data to assist with the training of AI models. Investment in robotics startups focused on foundational models and training data has grown almost fourfold compared with other innovation categories.

On the other hand, domestic investment in carbon-related shares fell sharply by 61 per cent, reaching the lowest level since 2020, as funds shifted towards technologies supporting AI infrastructure. The overall number of deals declined by 25 per cent as more capital moved towards large-scale data centre and energy projects, bringing climate venture finance closer to infrastructure finance.