Key Takeaways
- • U.S. startups raised $42 billion at the Series A stage through October 2026, up roughly 60% year over year, according to Crunchbase data, while deal counts remained on pace with recent years.
- • Series A round counts have held steady at roughly 1,200 companies per year at $1 million or more from 2023 through 2025, with 2026 tracking within about 100 deals of that level.
- • Early-stage investors are pursuing two divergent strategies: writing $10 million to $20 million seed checks earlier, or waiting for Series B and beyond for proof of growth.
- • 10% of U.S. Series A rounds so far in 2026 are $75 million or more, up from $50 million in 2025, indicating rising check sizes across the stage.
- • Scale Venture Partners closed its fund 8 at $900 million, its largest to date, up from a prior $600 million fund.
Summary
U.S. companies have raised $42 billion in Series A rounds through October 2026, up roughly 60% from a year earlier, according to Crunchbase data. Deal counts, however, have remained broadly stable, meaning more capital is concentrating in a similar number of companies. The 2023 low point of $23 billion in U.S. Series A funding has since roughly doubled, and round counts have averaged about 1,200 companies funded at $1 million or more from 2023 through 2025, with 2026 holding within roughly 100 deals of that range.
The report describes an increasingly divided early-stage market in which AI is driving demand for capital and enabling some startups to scale rapidly, while others struggle to convert early customers into repeatable sales. Siddharth Ramakrishnan, a partner at Scale Venture Partners, told Crunchbase that application-stage companies face a harder path, describing a Series A crunch. Crunchbase also reports a similar pattern of fewer but larger deals at Series B.
Investors are pursuing two opposing strategies. Some are writing much larger checks earlier; Ramakrishnan said $10 million to $20 million seed deals are not uncommon, often made when a company has around $500,000 in revenue and a pilot. Others wait for clearer traction, such as $2 million in revenue, before investing at Series B or later. Scale expects more variance in its current fund, aiming to keep a Series A and B risk profile by investing slightly earlier and later. Its fund 8 totals $900 million, up from $600 million previously.
Round sizes are rising across the distribution. At each quartile, U.S. Series A rounds have grown this year, and 10% of 2026 Series A rounds are $75 million or more, versus $50 million in 2025. Ramakrishnan noted that companies can now scale from zero to $20 million or $30 million in revenue, compared with the $7 million benchmark that was previously considered strong.
For founders, larger Series A rounds generally depend on converting a handful of early customers into a repeatable go-to-market motion. European seed investor Anke Huiskes of NP-Hard Ventures said that raising a large Series A is necessary to expand internationally and into new markets, and that many startups stall in this go-to-market phase. Once a repeatable sales cycle is proven, she said, venture firms quickly engage, with some companies receiving multiple term sheets.
The report describes an increasingly divided early-stage market in which AI is driving demand for capital and enabling some startups to scale rapidly, while others struggle to convert early customers into repeatable sales. Siddharth Ramakrishnan, a partner at Scale Venture Partners, told Crunchbase that application-stage companies face a harder path, describing a Series A crunch. Crunchbase also reports a similar pattern of fewer but larger deals at Series B.
Investors are pursuing two opposing strategies. Some are writing much larger checks earlier; Ramakrishnan said $10 million to $20 million seed deals are not uncommon, often made when a company has around $500,000 in revenue and a pilot. Others wait for clearer traction, such as $2 million in revenue, before investing at Series B or later. Scale expects more variance in its current fund, aiming to keep a Series A and B risk profile by investing slightly earlier and later. Its fund 8 totals $900 million, up from $600 million previously.
Round sizes are rising across the distribution. At each quartile, U.S. Series A rounds have grown this year, and 10% of 2026 Series A rounds are $75 million or more, versus $50 million in 2025. Ramakrishnan noted that companies can now scale from zero to $20 million or $30 million in revenue, compared with the $7 million benchmark that was previously considered strong.
For founders, larger Series A rounds generally depend on converting a handful of early customers into a repeatable go-to-market motion. European seed investor Anke Huiskes of NP-Hard Ventures said that raising a large Series A is necessary to expand internationally and into new markets, and that many startups stall in this go-to-market phase. Once a repeatable sales cycle is proven, she said, venture firms quickly engage, with some companies receiving multiple term sheets.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.