Global venture funding reached $159 billion in Q3 2026, according to Crunchbase data, with close to 6,000 startups funded. That was down 25% from Q2's $212 billion, but up 53% from Q3 2025's $104 billion. The quarter was the lowest of 2026 so far, yet still above every quarter since Q2 2022.
The standout was the number of huge rounds: 27 companies raised billion-dollar-plus rounds, an all-time record and up from 16 in Q2 and 14 in Q1. Those 27 companies took in about a third of all global venture capital in the quarter. Eight companies raised $3 billion or more, including Databricks and Safe Superintelligence, which each raised $5 billion.
AI remained the dominant driver, with AI startups raising $102 billion, or 64% of global venture capital. U.S. companies drew $91 billion, about 57% of the total, and the San Francisco Bay Area alone accounted for 24% of global investment. Physical AI sectors—aerospace, robotics, data centers, semiconductors, and energy—each raised at least $10 billion in Q3.