The state of startup funding each week: deal volume, valuations, round sizes and where the money is going — with the numbers.
Crunchbase data dominates this issue: Q3 2026 set a record for billion-dollar rounds even as total funding fell from Q2, and the IPO rebound leans heavily on one listing. The Q3 funding report and the first-half IPO analysis are the most worth reading. Smaller pieces cover AI-on-AI acquisitions, nuclear and marine startup funding, and Europe's AI funding surge.
Acquisitions of AI startups by other venture-backed AI companies reached 195 through Sept. 29, 14% more than all of 2025, while the number of buyers grew only 2%. Repeat buyers made about 42% of tracked deals, and OpenAI led with 20 acquisitions, 10 of them this year.
Global venture funding was $159B in Q3 2026, down 25% from Q2's $212B but up 53% from Q3 2025. A record 27 companies raised rounds of $1B or more, and AI startups took $102B, or 64% of the total.
Almost all of the week's top 10 U.S. rounds were AI-related. Instinct raised $1B at a $10B valuation, EliseAI $350M at $4B, and Armadin $255.5M at more than $2.5B.
Streams that already watch this field. Follow one as it is — it costs nothing extra.
Seed to Series B rounds led by a16z, Sequoia, Benchmark, Founders Fund, Accel, Index, Lightspeed, Greylock, Kleiner, General Catalyst or Thrive — who raised, how much, and what they build.
Practical, tested advice for founders on fundraising, pricing, hiring, sales and finding product-market fit — from Lenny’s, YC, Elad Gil, SaaStr and Not Boring.
New Y Combinator companies as they launch: what they build, for whom, and the founders behind them.