Key Takeaways
- • Seattle-area startups raised a record $3.5 billion in venture capital in the third quarter of 2026, more than triple the $1 billion raised in the same quarter a year earlier, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.
- • The regional total exceeds the previous quarterly high of about $2.4 billion, reached in late 2018 and again in late 2022, by more than $1 billion.
- • Capital concentrated in companies building physical hardware, including rockets, satellites, spacecraft and fusion power plants, with Kent-based Stoke Space, Bellevue-based Temporal and Everett-based Helion leading the rounds.
- • Three regional space companies, Stoke, Redmond-based Starcloud and Seattle-based Hubble Network, together raised $1.6 billion.
- • Seattle moved against the national trend: U.S. venture funding fell 40% from the prior quarter to $98.4 billion as frontier AI lab mega-rounds tapered, and Seattle ranked seventh among U.S. metros by dollars raised.
Summary
Seattle-area startups raised $3.5 billion in venture capital in the third quarter, the highest quarterly total for the region in at least a decade, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor as reported by GeekWire. The figure is more than triple the $1 billion raised in the same quarter a year earlier and exceeds the previous quarterly high of roughly $2.4 billion, recorded in late 2018 and again in late 2022.
The funding was concentrated in a small group of companies building physical products. Kent-based rocket maker Stoke Space, Bellevue developer platform Temporal and Everett fusion company Helion led the largest rounds. Three regional space companies, Stoke, Redmond-based Starcloud and Seattle's Hubble Network, collectively raised $1.6 billion. Helion's $500 million round, announced in June, is counted by PitchBook in the third quarter. Even excluding that round, the quarter would still represent the region's largest on record.
The regional surge contrasted sharply with national trends. U.S. venture funding fell 40% from the prior quarter to $98.4 billion, as the very large rounds for frontier AI labs that dominated the first half of the year tapered off. Seattle ranked seventh among U.S. metros by venture dollars in the quarter, behind the Bay Area ($40.7 billion), Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Boston and Denver. Denver's $4.2 billion total was driven largely by a single $3.9 billion round for AI data center developer Crusoe. By deal count, Seattle ranked eighth with 94 transactions.
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The funding was concentrated in a small group of companies building physical products. Kent-based rocket maker Stoke Space, Bellevue developer platform Temporal and Everett fusion company Helion led the largest rounds. Three regional space companies, Stoke, Redmond-based Starcloud and Seattle's Hubble Network, collectively raised $1.6 billion. Helion's $500 million round, announced in June, is counted by PitchBook in the third quarter. Even excluding that round, the quarter would still represent the region's largest on record.
The regional surge contrasted sharply with national trends. U.S. venture funding fell 40% from the prior quarter to $98.4 billion, as the very large rounds for frontier AI labs that dominated the first half of the year tapered off. Seattle ranked seventh among U.S. metros by venture dollars in the quarter, behind the Bay Area ($40.7 billion), Los Angeles, New York, Austin, Boston and Denver. Denver's $4.2 billion total was driven largely by a single $3.9 billion round for AI data center developer Crusoe. By deal count, Seattle ranked eighth with 94 transactions.
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