Key Takeaways
- • US startups raised $20.83B across 563 rounds in October 2026, down 25% from September and up 71% from October 2025, according to AlleyWatch.
- • Four rounds of $1B or more (Ramp, Tenstorrent, Flapping Airplanes and Kalshi) totaled $5.35B, or 26% of the month's capital.
- • Series A capital surged to $5.11B, up 72% from September's $2.97B, with three rounds of $400M or more accounting for $2.27B of the stage.
- • Series C and later raised $10.77B, 52% of capital, down from $19.84B and 71% in September.
- • Companies tagged as AI raised about $13.76B, roughly two-thirds of October's total, while New York companies captured 23.7% of US capital at $4.94B.
Summary
US startups raised $20.83B across 563 rounds in October 2026, according to AlleyWatch's US venture funding report. The total was down 25% from September and up 71% from October 2025. Capital was concentrated in a small number of large rounds: four rounds of $1B or more, from Ramp ($1.85B), Tenstorrent ($1.5B), Flapping Airplanes ($1B) and Kalshi ($1B), totaled $5.35B. The 43 rounds of $100M or more raised $14.25B, or 68% of the month's capital.
Series A was the standout stage. Its $5.11B total rose 72% from September's $2.97B, with Flapping Airplanes ($1B at a $6B valuation, led by Index Ventures and Lux Capital), TypeSafe AI ($870M at a $7.5B valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz) and Atlas Atomics (about $400M for a nuclear reactor at a $1.9B valuation) accounting for $2.27B, or 44% of the stage. Late-Stage activity cooled, with Series C and later rounds raising $10.77B, versus $19.84B in September. Series B raised $2.98B across 50 rounds, and Early-Stage raised $1.98B across 341 rounds, with a median Early-Stage round of $2.7M.
AI remained the dominant theme. Companies tagged as AI raised about $13.76B, roughly two-thirds of the month, led by Tenstorrent, Flapping Airplanes, TypeSafe AI and Modal. Hard-tech rounds were also significant, including Bedrock Robotics ($600M, autonomous construction), Oratomic ($475M, quantum computing) and Atlas Atomics ($400M, nuclear energy). In fintech, Ramp and Kalshi together raised $2.85B.
New York companies raised $4.94B across 54 rounds, 23.7% of US capital, according to the report. Ramp, Kalshi and Modal alone accounted for $3.60B of that total, and NYC companies took 40% of US Late-Stage dollars. NYC capital rose 254% year over year and 61% from September, compared with the national figures cited above.
AlleyWatch noted that Q3 closed at about $65.43B, and that October figures will be revised as late-reported rounds arrive. The report's methodology excludes undisclosed rounds, corporate rounds, private equity and debt.
Series A was the standout stage. Its $5.11B total rose 72% from September's $2.97B, with Flapping Airplanes ($1B at a $6B valuation, led by Index Ventures and Lux Capital), TypeSafe AI ($870M at a $7.5B valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz) and Atlas Atomics (about $400M for a nuclear reactor at a $1.9B valuation) accounting for $2.27B, or 44% of the stage. Late-Stage activity cooled, with Series C and later rounds raising $10.77B, versus $19.84B in September. Series B raised $2.98B across 50 rounds, and Early-Stage raised $1.98B across 341 rounds, with a median Early-Stage round of $2.7M.
AI remained the dominant theme. Companies tagged as AI raised about $13.76B, roughly two-thirds of the month, led by Tenstorrent, Flapping Airplanes, TypeSafe AI and Modal. Hard-tech rounds were also significant, including Bedrock Robotics ($600M, autonomous construction), Oratomic ($475M, quantum computing) and Atlas Atomics ($400M, nuclear energy). In fintech, Ramp and Kalshi together raised $2.85B.
New York companies raised $4.94B across 54 rounds, 23.7% of US capital, according to the report. Ramp, Kalshi and Modal alone accounted for $3.60B of that total, and NYC companies took 40% of US Late-Stage dollars. NYC capital rose 254% year over year and 61% from September, compared with the national figures cited above.
AlleyWatch noted that Q3 closed at about $65.43B, and that October figures will be revised as late-reported rounds arrive. The report's methodology excludes undisclosed rounds, corporate rounds, private equity and debt.
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