Global mergers and acquisitions are projected to reach an annual value of $4 trillion in 2026, marking the strongest performance for the sector since 2021, according to a report published by PwC.

The growth is largely attributed to a series of substantial mega deals fuelled by the ongoing demand for artificial intelligence capabilities.

PwC reported that transactions exceeding $5 billion have accounted for nearly half of the total global deal value so far this year.

The firm anticipates a 40 per cent annual increase in the value of these mega deals throughout 2026, provided that the current pace of activity is maintained.

“2026 is the year of super-sized mergers and acquisitions,” noted Brian Levy, leader of the global deals sector at PwC US, adding that artificial intelligence is driving mega deals, redirecting capital and reshaping industry winners and losers.

Despite this optimism, the report highlighted that many mid-market investors remain constrained by geopolitical uncertainty, valuation gaps, slowing growth, higher inflation and interest rates, alongside a persistent backlog of private capital exits.

If the global value of mergers and acquisitions reaches $4 trillion by the end of 2026, it will represent an increase of at least 13 per cent on an annual basis from 2025.

This would be the second-largest annual deal value recorded since 2021, when transactions exceeded $5 trillion.

Deals worth over $5 billion now represent 48 per cent of total global value, rising from 39 per cent in 2025 and 26 per cent in 2024.

Several of this year’s largest transactions have focused on artificial intelligence, including acquisitions announced by SpaceX and Salesforce last month.

SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has finalised an agreement to acquire the artificial intelligence start-up Cursor for $60 billion, a move intended to bolster its ability to compete with industry rivals such as Anthropic and OpenAI.

Salesforce is acquiring the AI-powered customer service platform Fin for $3.6 billion to strengthen its offerings in the field of robotic employees, as the company addresses concerns that new artificial intelligence tools could render its current business model obsolete.

Meanwhile, the technology giant Qualcomm is reportedly in negotiations to acquire Modular, in a move that would value the AI chip firm at approximately $4 billion.

“Over time, artificial intelligence could make private markets more liquid, making it easier to evaluate and negotiate assets,” stated PwC, adding that the transaction process will rely as much on information provided by artificial intelligence as it does on human judgement.