This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 Top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week鈥檚 biggest funding deal roundup here.

This week delivered a bountiful supply of big startup funding rounds, led by two $400 million financings for cybersecurity unicorns and . Rounding out the week were large financings for startups across hot sectors, including foundational AI, drug discovery, neurotech, and even rainmaking.

1. , $400M, cybersecurity: Island, a developer of tools for secure enterprise digital operations, raised $400 million in Series F financing. led the round, which set a $6.4 billion valuation for the Dallas-based company, more than double its 2024 valuation.

2. , $400M, cybersecurity: Cyera, a provider of enterprise data security tools that govern both humans and AI agents, picked up $400 million in Series G extension funding led by and backed by . The round brings total funding for New York-based Cyera to $2.7 billion, .

3. , $350M, foundational AI: San Francisco-based Snorkel AI, provider of tools for frontier labs and AI teams to develop specialized training data and environments, secured $350 million in Series E funding. and led the round, valuing the 7-year-old company at $3.2 billion, and it now has more than $375 million in annual recurring revenue.

4. , $311M, biotech: Enveda, an AI-enabled drug discovery startup, closed on $311 million in Series E financing led by and joined by a long list of new and existing investors. The round brings the Boulder, Colorado-based company’s total capital raised since inception to more than $845 million.

5. , $250M, neurotech: New York-based Precision Neuroscience, a startup focused on brain-computer interface technology, secured $250 million in Series D funding with and the as lead investors.

6. , $200M, wireless communications: Hubble Network, operator of a satellite network that extends connectivity to Bluetooth devices, pulled in $200 million in Series C funding. led the financing, which set a $1.6 billion valuation for the Seattle-based company.

7. , $155M, pharmacy benefits: New York-based Rightway, a provider of pharmacy benefits and care navigation services, raised $155 million in Series E funding led by . The startup will use the financing in part to expand its AI capabilities.

8. (tied) , $100M, cloud seeding: El Segundo, California-based Rainmaker, a startup focused on atmospheric research and producing new freshwater through cloud seeding, picked up $100 million in Series B funding. The round includes investments from , , , and .

8. (tied) , $100M, tax compliance: San Francisco-based Numeral, an AI-powered sales tax compliance platform, closed on a $100 million Series C round led by .

8. (tied) , $100M, AI data: San Francisco-based Micro1, a provider of AI training data to major AI labs, has reportedly raised a fresh funding round of more than $100 million at a valuation of $4 billion, according to a citing people familiar with the deal.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 兔子先生传媒 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Sept. 19-25, 2026. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration:

So far this year, companies in the space have raised around $2 billion in seed- through growth-stage funding. That’s already ahead of the 2025 full-year total, driven in large part by big rounds for companies at the intersection of AI and gaming.

Lead fundraisers

A few particularly large rounds contributed an outsized share to this year鈥檚 funding tally.

Sunnyvale, California-based , a developer of foundation models for AI-powered 3D generation, was the largest fundraiser, pulling in $400 million in a July Series B at a $1.5 billion valuation. While not a pure-play gaming company, Meshy highlights gaming as a core use case for its 3D AI agent.

, developer of a platform for training AI models, was another investor favorite, pulling in $300 million. Like Meshy, Israel-based Decart is not an AI pure-play; it鈥檚 also known for a video simulation technology pitched as compelling for game development.

We also saw plenty of pure gaming startups in the largest-round list, including motion-based family game developer , which closed on $150 million last week, and Turkish mobile gaming company , which picked up $70 million in May. Below, we highlight nine standout funding recipients this year.

Investors are also scaling up

Gaming-focused venture investors are also attracting fresh capital. One of the larger raises closed last month, with San Francisco-based picking up $250 million for its fourth flagship fund. The closing follows a string of successful investments, including a lead seed stake in viral puzzle game maker , which later exited at a $5 billion valuation.

Makers Fund has continued to invest actively, taking part in at least 10 known rounds this year, per 兔子先生传媒 data. This includes financings for high-profile startups such as , the sports betting platform that recently drew attention for a controversial ad campaign.

A few months earlier, announced a fresh raise of its own, securing $100 million for a fund focused on indie games. The firm鈥檚 Special Opportunities Fund intends to provide financing in exchange for a share of a game鈥檚 revenue, in what it hopes will be a more appealing investment structure for indie studios.

The beginning of an up cycle?

Overall, while gaming startup investment remains far below the peaks seen a few years ago, the substantial year-over-year gains we鈥檙e seeing look encouraging. The direction of funding charts certainly points to an upturn still early in the making.

Related 兔子先生传媒 query:

Related reading:

• Gaming Startup Funding Levels Down Further In 2025

Illustration:

So far this year, global startups have secured at least 114 Series A rounds聽1 of $100 million or more, per 兔子先生传媒 data. That鈥檚 the highest annual total in years and on track to top the all-time peak.

Moreover, many of those jumbo early-stage rounds far exceed the $100 million threshold. Collectively, this group of Series A recipients has raised around $33 billion this year, with at least 12 rounds valued at $500 million or more.

An AI thing

The funding bump was mostly an AI-driven phenomenon. Per 兔子先生传媒 data, more than 70% of Series A rounds of $100 million or more went to AI-focused startups.

That figure encompasses some of the year鈥檚 largest early-stage financings. For instance, it includes a $1.2 billion round for Silicon Valley-based , a platform for developers to train and serve custom models, and a $900 million financing for China-based , a developer of AI-enabled humanoid robots.

Below, we put together a sample of 10 of the largest Series A rounds, including mostly AI but a few other areas as well.

The high preponderance of AI deals reflects what we鈥檝e been seeing across stages. In the first half of this year, venture and growth funding to artificial intelligence startups totaled an estimated $394 billion, roughly 77% of all investment capital. Granted, most of that was for later-stage financings. But our Series A data shows early-stage doesn鈥檛 look too different for AI鈥檚 share.

US leads for jumbo Series A deals.

Roughly half of this year鈥檚 $100 million-plus Series A rounds and funding went to U.S.-based startups, per 兔子先生传媒 data. That translates to about 62 deals with a collective value of around $15 billion so far in 2026, which puts it on track for a record tally.

Still, megaround funding at Series A is more globally dispersed than overall venture investment this year. In the first half of 2026, more than three-quarters of global seed- through growth-stage financing went to American companies, largely due to megarounds for Silicon Valley-based and .

When investors like the same things

One can point to several potential causes behind the rise in Series A megarounds beyond AI growth alone. For one, leading startup investors have exceptionally large capital reserves to deploy. Additionally, exit multiples historically, and to an even greater extent recently, reward those who are anything but modest in their ambitions.

At Series A, another factor may be that investors seem to agree more than usual on the sectors, business models and founding teams they want to back. And given that a pricey share of a winner still beats a discounted share of a laggard, they鈥檙e piling in to perceived early-stage leaders.

Related 兔子先生传媒 queries:

Related reading:

• 兔子先生传媒 Data: Global Startup Investment Hit Record $510B in H1 2026 As AI Boom Accelerates Funding And Exits

Illustration:

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 Top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week鈥檚 biggest funding deal roundup here.

After a week of multiple billion-dollar-plus rounds, startup investors have reduced the number of zeroes on their funding checks. This past week, the largest U.S. startup funding rounds were in the hundreds of millions, topped by a $550 million financing for AI infrastructure company and a $308 million investment in space vehicle developer .

The remaining list of big rounds featured mostly AI-focused companies in sectors including investment management, networking, coding and marketing as well as some energy and biotech. Data center developer , also made official its previously reported $3 billion-plus raise, co-led by , and .

1. , $550M, AI infrastructure: Temporal Technologies, developer of an open source platform for building and operating long-running AI agents and other enterprise systems, secured $550 million in Series E funding at a $12.55 billion valuation. , , , and led the financing for the Bellevue, Washington-based company.

2. , $308M, space tech: Redondo Beach, California-based Impulse Space, a developer of space vehicles for moving payloads across and between orbits, secured $308 million in Series D extension funding. The financing brings the combined round total to $808 million.

3. , $250M, investment management: Ridgeline, an AI-enabled investment management platform, picked up $250 million in a Series E funding round. The financing, led by founder and chairman , set a $1.45 billion valuation for the Incline Village, Nevada-based company.

4. , $205M, networking: Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Cornelis Networks, a developer of networking technology for AI and high-performance computing workloads, closed on $205 million in new funding backed by .

5. , $200M, AI software development: San Francisco-based Factory, a provider of AI tools for enterprise software development, announced a $200 million funding round at a $5 billion valuation, backed by a long list of venture firms and individual investors.

6. , $180M, AI marketing: Profound, a startup offering marketing software to help users appear more prominently in AI results, raised $180 million in Series D funding at a $1.8 billion valuation. and led the financing for the New York-based company.

7. (tied) , $150M, foundational AI: Arcee AI, a developer of open-weight AI models, closed on $150 million in Series B funding at a valuation of more than $1 billion. , and led the round for the San Francisco-based company.

7. (tied) , $150M, gaming: Nex, a developer of family-oriented digital games that rely on body motion rather than controllers, secured $150 million in new equity and debt financing, including a Series E led by and . The San Francisco company did not break out how much of the round consisted of equity.

9. , $135M, geothermal energy: Mazama Energy, a Seattle-based geothermal energy developer specializing in superhot rock geothermal power, picked up $135 million in a Series B round led by and .

10. , $123M, biotech: Sling Therapeutics, developer of a small-molecule therapy for thyroid eye disease, closed on $123 million in Series C funding. led the financing for the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 兔子先生传媒 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Sept. 12-18, 2026. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration:

U.S. venture-backed technology聽1 companies have secured nearly $90 billion in domestic public offerings this year, per 兔子先生传媒 data. That鈥檚 already the second-highest annual tally on record, and we鈥檝e still got a few months to go.

However, virtually all the money went to two companies. alone accounted for 83% of the $90 billion raised this year, while AI infrastructure company scooped up another 6%. A potential offering from , meanwhile, could be even bigger.

The remaining field is comparatively modest. Just 21 other venture-backed technology companies went public this year in sizable or offerings 2, per 兔子先生传媒 data. Collectively, their offerings, which include traditional IPOs and SPAC deals, pulled in less than $10 billion.

This small cohort is intriguing for what it excludes as well as what it includes. Enterprise software, long a staple industry among venture-backed IPOs, was essentially a no-show this year. Energy, defense and space tech, by contrast, were well-represented. We also saw smaller offerings from other sectors, including medical devices and consumer-facing startups.

Here are some of the key findings in more detail:

Energy powers the most IPOs: About a quarter of this year鈥檚 tech startup offerings hail from the energy sector. The largest of these was from geothermal energy provider . Several nuclear power-focused startups also made their debuts, including and , developers of small modular nuclear reactors, as well as , focused on advanced nuclear fuel.

A dash of quantum, defense, aerospace, devices and consumer: Beyond energy, quantum computing company delivered one of the year鈥檚 larger debuts, as did equipment rental platform . Defense tech and aerospace were also strong performers, with offerings from satellite intelligence provider and spacecraft developer . And on the consumer front, e-bike and scooter platform finally made its market entrance, albeit at a valuation below its one-time .

An IPO SaaS-pocalipse: But what about SaaS? Mostly MIA. The paucity of enterprise software offerings this year isn鈥檛 entirely surprising given the impact of AI on the sector. VCs are pouring capital into a newer generation of AI-first platforms in legal tech, accounting and other enterprise software sectors. Existing SaaS unicorns are also moving fast to incorporate more AI in their offerings.

One end result is there are an awful lot of SaaS unicorns and former unicorns that have concluded this year is not the time to pursue an IPO.

Winner-takes-almost-all

Another end result is that investment returns are looking more concentrated than ever.

Of course, winning big or not at all is far from a new thing in the startup world. Tech venture returns have always been propped up largely by a few enormous wins, with the remainder of portfolio companies producing either losses or smaller profitable exits. But lately, the winner-take-almost-all-the-IPO-proceeds tilt is more pronounced than ever.

The pipeline of tech companies that have filed for future IPOs doesn鈥檛 offer much consolation that this pattern will change. Giant potential market debuts from Anthropic and still dominate IPO chatter. Enterprise SaaS offerings do not.

Related 兔子先生传媒 query:

Illustration:

For the past few years, global funding to biotech startups has hovered between $36 billion and $40 billion. Per 兔子先生传媒 data, 2026 is on track to stay close to that range.

The numbers don鈥檛 paint an especially bullish picture, even though overall venture investment rose to a record level in the first half of this year. Still, given that much of that largesse went to a couple of generative AI behemoths, biotechs scooped up a respectable share of what was left.

Biggest rounds

A few biotechs picked up some especially large financings. A good share of those were for 鈥� no shocker here 鈥� companies at the intersection of biotech and AI.

So far this year, more than $6 billion has gone to AI-focused biotechs, per 兔子先生传媒 data.

The largest round 鈥� and the biggest for any biotech this year 鈥� was a $2.1 billion Series B for London-based , which describes itself as an AI-first drug design and development company.

Delaware-based , which develops AI platforms for developing protein therapeutics, was the second-largest fundraiser, closing on $787 million in March. The next-largest AI-focused fundraise was San Francisco鈥檚 , a startup applying AI to drug discovery, which secured $400 million in Series C this summer at a $3.8 billion valuation.

Of course, not all of this year鈥檚 heavily funded biotechs describe themselves as AI-centric. A case in point is , a longevity startup based in South San Francisco, California, focused on developing medicines to restore youthful function in old cells, that raised $435 million in a June Series C. For a broader view, below we put together a list of 10 of this year鈥檚 most heavily funded global biotechs.

Still an early-stage game, with plenty of exits

But while top-funded biotechs may skew a bit later-stage, that鈥檚 not the case for the overall startup pipeline.

Funding rounds this year are heavily tilted toward seed and early stage, which comprise more than half of all investment and most rounds. This is a pattern we see in prior years as well, as later-stage biotechs often seek to go public after a Series B or Series C financing rather than raise another venture round.

This year, we鈥檝e also seen a fair share of biotechs go public rather early in their lifecycles, particularly for hot areas like obesity therapeutics and pain management.

, a developer of oral and injectable therapies for obesity, was a prominent example. The Waltham, Massachusetts, company, founded in 2024, went public in April, six months after closing its Series B.

Personalized medicine startup followed a similar trajectory, making its debut in June after raising more than $550 million in early-stage funding the prior year. And , a developer of non-opioid therapies for chronic pain, completed its IPO in August, about a year-and-a-half after its Series B.

Later-stage biotechs also didn鈥檛 sit out the IPO parade. The year’s largest biotech offering, for example, was 10-year-old , focused on cancer therapeutics, which raised its Series F in January.

Biotech startups also delivered some big M&A exits. Per 兔子先生传媒 data, at least 12 funded companies sold in transactions valued at $1 billion or more, including potential milestone payments. They are listed below.

Healthy outlook

Overall, 兔子先生传媒 data shows biotech funding and exits holding up at healthy levels this year. True, conditions look pretty tame compared to the exuberance of the AI investment blitz. As funding at the intersection of AI and biotech continues to accumulate, however, we might see more of that enthusiasm spilling over in coming quarters.

Related 兔子先生传媒 queries:

Related reading:

• 兔子先生传媒 Data: Global Startup Investment Hit Record $510B In H1 2026 As AI Boom Accelerates Funding And Exits

Illustration:

This is a weekly feature that runs down the week鈥檚 top 10 announced funding rounds in the U.S. Check out last week鈥檚 biggest funding deal roundup here.

Most of this week鈥檚 largest funding recipients were AI-focused startups, with , a developer of AI assistants, pulling in the biggest round. Other sizable financings went to companies in areas including business software, physical AI, autonomous transport and even sea gliders. Overall, rounds skewed smaller than in recent past weeks.

1. , $250M, AI assistants: Instinct, a startup developing and beta testing an AI assistant, is raising $250 million in a Series B valuing the San Francisco company at $2.5 billion, according to a from citing founder . Lead backers include and .

2. , $240M, small business AI tools: Owner, a provider of AI tools for local businesses to automate things like building websites, online and phone ordering, mobile apps, and customer support, picked up $240 million in new funding. led the financing, valuing the 8-year-old San Francisco company at $2.3 billion.

3. (tied) , $200M, physical AI: San Francisco-based Generalist AI, a startup developing an AI foundation model that can work with a variety of robots, secured $200 million in fresh financing. The investment, an extension of its $400 million Series B in June, is reportedly led by 1.

3. (tied) , $200M, autonomous trucking: Gatik, an operator of driverless trucks, closed on $200 million in Series D funding. and led the round for the 9-year-old, Santa Clara, California-based company.

5. , $156M, predictive analytics: Socure, a provider of identity, risk and compliance tools, picked up $156 million in growth funding and acquired , an agentic platform for fraud and compliance operations. led the round, valuing the Incline Village, Nevada-based company at $5.2 billion.

6. , $150M, data center energy management: Emerald AI, a software platform that balances AI computational workloads and available energy resources, raised $150 million in Series A funding. The financing, led by and , set the Washington, D.C.-based company鈥檚 valuation at $1.05 billion.

7. (tied) , $120M, sea gliders: Rhode Island-based Regent Craft, a developer of high-speed winged sea vessels, closed on $120 million in Series B equity funding led by and . It also secured $120 million in debt funding from .

7. (tied) , $120M, biopharma: AusperBio, a San Francisco startup developing therapeutics for chronic hepatitis B and other diseases, picked up $120 million in Series C funding backed by new and existing investors. The funding will support clinical trials for its lead therapeutic.

9. , $76M, AI for creatives: Los Angeles-based Stability AI, a developer of AI products for professional creatives across music, gaming and entertainment, announced a Series B fundraise of $76 million backed by a long list of venture and strategic investors.

10. , $75M, coffee: Brooklyn-based coffee and matcha drink chain Blank Street has raised $75 million in fresh funding from investors including as it plans a West Coast expansion. The company also raised $30 million in secondary market transactions.

Methodology

We tracked the largest announced rounds in the 兔子先生传媒 database that were raised by U.S.-based companies for the period of Aug. 22-28. Although most announced rounds are in the database, there may be a small time lag, as some rounds are reported late in the week.

Illustration:

So far this year, a record $20.3 billion in global seed- through growth-stage funding has gone to companies in space- and satellite-related sectors, per 兔子先生传媒 data. That鈥檚 already by far the highest annual tally on record, and we鈥檝e still got four months left in 2026.

Excitement extends beyond obvious markers like a behemoth IPO. The latest quarterly from venture investor declares that 鈥渢he space economy has entered a new era,鈥� and that 鈥渃apital is flowing at unprecedented scale,鈥� with scant indication of a near-term pullback.

It鈥檚 a global phenomenon as well, with the United States, China and Europe accounting for the overwhelming majority of funding. So far this year, U.S. startups pulled in around $12.7 billion, more than 60% of global space tech funding. Just over 20% of funding went to China-based companies, while Europe pulled in about 10%.

Top fundraisers

Funding looks robust, but, as usual, the larger rounds cluster at later stages.

This is true for 2026 fundraising leaders. The top-ranked investment recipient, , pulled in $5 billion in a May Series H. (Anduril is a diversified defense technology company rather than a pure-play space tech company, but it includes space and satellites among its focus areas.)

Shanghai-based , also referred to as SpaceSail, which is developing a low-Earth orbit satellite internet constellation to rival , was another prodigious fundraiser, pulling in a $1 billion round in August.

, a Torrance, California-based developer of large, high-powered satellites, also picked up a big round, securing $500 million in Series D funding in July.

For a broader view, below we put together a list of nine of this year鈥檚 largest space tech funding round recipients.

Exits rising

Needless to say, space tech investors aren鈥檛 just deploying capital 鈥� they鈥檙e also seeing eye-popping exit returns.

SpaceX set an initial valuation of nearly $1.8 trillion for its June IPO 鈥� the largest by far of any public offering to date 鈥� and raised over $80 billion in the process. Shares of the rocket developer, launch provider, Starlink operator and AI hyperscaler have fluctuated since then, but recently hovered near the initial offer price.

Of course, no other company operating in the space tech sector will come close to that. Leaving that aside, however, we did see some offerings and acquisitions that were significant by most other comps.

One example was , a private equity-backed space and defense tech company, which went public in January at a valuation of over $4 billion. Its stock has fallen sharply since then, however, indicating that a space tech focus alone is not enough to keep shares aloft.

More recently, , operator of a satellite constellation that sells signals intelligence to defense and government customers, went public in May. Its shares are also down some from their first-day closing price.

Startup M&A deals are also happening. York Space Systems announced this year that it is acquiring , a provider of satellite communications terminals, in a $355 million deal. It acquired two other venture-backed companies this year for undisclosed sums: , a developer of satellite propulsion systems, and , focused on solar energy for space.

Another recent market entrant, , also made a significant acquisition, picking up , a developer of lunar landers and rovers, for $300 million in June.

Risks and rewards

Of course, even the most sunnily optimistic startup investors don’t expect space tech valuations to always move up and to the right. It鈥檚 a notoriously risk-prone sector, and even the sector鈥檚 high-valuation market newcomer, SpaceX, has suffered its share of rocket failures and other high-profile disappointments.

That said, startup backers clearly believe space tech rewards outweigh the risks. We鈥檒l see in coming quarters if that still holds true.

Correction: The 2025 dollar amount in the chart was updated.

Related 兔子先生传媒 query:

Related reading:

• SpaceX Shares Close Up 19% After Largest IPO Of All Time

Illustration:

It鈥檚 been a rapid progression to get here. In the past two years, venture investors have poured more than $7 billion into legal and legal tech startups, most with an AI focus. Funding to the space hit a record level last year, with $4.6 billion invested, per 兔子先生传媒 data. So far this year, legal tech startups have pulled in more than $2.2 billion.

Top fundraisers

The biggest chunk of funding in recent quarters has gone to startups familiar to followers of the space.

, a provider of AI tools for legal professionals, is the sector鈥檚 top fundraiser with $1.2 billion in investment to date. The 4-year-old, San Francisco-based company is reportedly now another $500 million at a $15.5 billion valuation.

, an AI platform built for lawyers, is also in the midst of a massive scale-up. The Stockholm-based startup raised $600 million in Series D funding this year, securing a valuation of $5.5 billion, tripling over a six-month period.

, a 2008 vintage provider of legal practice management software that has pivoted heavily into AI, has also been attracting growth funding. While it didn鈥檛 secure a round this year, the Vancouver company closed on $1.4 billion in equity financing in 2024 and 2025.

For 2026, meanwhile, at least 12 legal tech-focused startups have secured rounds of $50 million or more. We’ve put together a list below.

Notably, there鈥檚 still quite a bit of activity at the early stage. Out of the 12 largest rounds this year, eight were Series A or Series B financings. Seed-stage dealmaking is also busy, with more than 50 legal- and legal-tech seed rounds of $1 million or more this year, per 兔子先生传媒 data.

Exits

Legal tech startups are also selling to acquirers at a steady clip.

Legora has been particularly acquisitive of late, snapping up at least five companies this year, all of which raised seed or venture funding. Harvey is also a serial buyer, acquiring at least three companies in 2026. Neither company has disclosed purchase prices.

Among publicly traded acquirers, , a Dutch legal and healthcare software provider, has made at least two sizable legal tech startup acquisitions since last year. It paid $500 million for , a provider of legal spend management tools, and $105 million for , an AI workspace for legal professionals.

We haven鈥檛 seen venture-backed legal tech companies go public lately, but the biggest names seem to be signaling the possibility. Harvey, for instance, it added over $100 million in ARR in the first quarter of this year, indicating it has the revenue and growth trajectory of a strong IPO candidate.

With high investment comes high expectations

Robust investment in legal tech comes amid high expectations for AI-delivered efficiencies among legal professionals.

A of professionals in the space this year found that 80% of respondents believe AI will have a high or transformational impact on their work within the next five years.

Early benefits look promising too, with more than half of respondents attesting that their organizations are already seeing a return on investment from investing in AI. Top use cases include document review, legal research, summarizing documents, and drafting briefs or memos.

One of the highest-impact areas for AI ahead is saving time, with tools that automate repetitive tasks. Generally speaking, that鈥檚 a welcome offering, although legal professionals do widely anticipate it could disrupt the hourly billing model.

Overall, the storyline looks similar to what we see in other industries where AI is shouldering more tasks. AI isn鈥檛 expected to replace lawyers and legal support staff. However, it could free people to spend more time on valuable tasks only a human can do, enable employers to run with a smaller staff, or both.

Related 兔子先生传媒 query:

Related reading:

• Legal Tech Investment Hits All-Time High With Filevine Funding
• Swedish Legal Tech Startup Legora Lands Another $50M In Nvidia-Led Series D Extension

Illustration:

So far this year, more than 500 seed- or venture-backed private companies across the globe have sold to other private, venture-backed companies, per 兔子先生传媒 data. The most prolific acquirers include many of the most famous and valuable unicorns, including , and .

Overall, the pace of dealmaking in 2026 looks relatively flat聽1Reported deal counts are down slightly this year from the comparable period, but are likely to even out more over time as some acquisitions, particularly smaller deals, are added to the dataset weeks or months after they close.2 compared to last year. That鈥檚 not entirely surprising given that overall market conditions haven鈥檛 changed dramatically. The number of tech startup IPOs remains below normal. Hot venture-backed AI companies are still sustaining unheard-of valuations. And the rise of megarounds means favored startup acquirers are flush with cash.

Startups buying startups in recent years

In total, at least 440 funded startups sold to other startups in the first half of this year. The second half is shaping up to be a bit slower, meanwhile, with fewer than 100 deals so far.

For a more expansive chronological view, below we charted startup M&A deal counts by half-year beginning in 2021.

The pace of M&A dealmaking peaked about four years ago and fell afterward, in tandem with a broader dip in startup investment. But activity has picked up over the past couple of years with the rise in AI investment.

Startups that buy a lot of other startups

A few startups have proven particularly acquisitive.

The standout in this category is probably OpenAI, which has acquired eight startups this year, most of them seed- or early-stage companies. To date, the generative AI giant has bought at least 19 companies, per 兔子先生传媒 data.

Anthropic has also been a busy buyer. It鈥檚 snapped up at least five startups so far this year, including the $400 million purchase of AI biotech startup .

In the fintech space, meanwhile, has been on an M&A spree. The crypto transactions platform acquired five funded startups focused on cryptocurrency or blockchain between April and July.

Others with multiple funded startup M&A deals this year include AI infrastructure unicorn , security provider , and the legal tech startups and .

No big slowdown in sight

While prediction can be a fool’s game, there鈥檚 not much in the immediate set of indicators pointing to a slowdown in startups鈥� appetite for acquisition. Amid fierce competition for an edge in the AI race, well-funded startups commonly find it鈥檚 simply faster to buy another company than try to build out certain technologies themselves.

Same goes for talent. Through acquihire transactions, startups can bring on board not just top-tier individuals but experienced teams with a track record of building impressive things together.

Concentration of capital is another factor driving M&A deals. While overall startup funding has risen this year, it鈥檚 increasingly spread across a smaller pool of companies. That leaves one large cohort of startups struggling to raise funding while another has plentiful capital for acquisitions.

Go-to-market expenses also factor into M&A considerations. A startup might produce a compelling offering in-house but find it costly to bring it to market. The process may look more feasible under the wing of a larger, more mature startup.

Bottom line: Given the high number of willing sellers and well-funded buyers, expect the startup-to-startup acquisitions to continue.

Related 兔子先生传媒 query:

Related reading:

• Why More Startups Are Buying Other Startups In 2025
• Anthropic Nears $1T Valuation And Leapfrogs OpenAI On 兔子先生传媒 With Massive Funding Round
• The Rise And Rise Of Billion-Dollar-Plus Rounds

Illustration: