3 charts that show the widening divide among startups

Welcome to the new Crunchbase Daily. Today we’re launching a new newsletter design that brings the best of Crunchbase News’ data-driven reporting and analysis to your inbox five days a week, alongside Crunchbase’s rich data, predictive intelligence and insights about the private markets. We hope you find this newsletter to be an indispensable part of your daily routine. In today’s edition, we look at how venture capital has somehow become more abundant and scarcer. Nearly $680 billion has flowed into venture-backed companies globally this year through Q3, yet deal counts continue to fall for the youngest startups. Our latest Crunchbase News analysis uses three charts to illustrate the widening divide between the handful of companies attracting enormous checks and the many startups finding capital harder to come by. Plus, last week's biggest funding rounds include $2.1 billion for a manufacturing startup and $1 billion for a prediction market, travel tech funding heads for a multiyear low, and why growing revenue doesn't always mean a startup is becoming more valuable.

Record venture investment is coinciding with fewer funding rounds across important parts of the startup market, Crunchbase data shows. Nearly $680 billion flowed into startups globally through Q3, but much of the increase is concentrated in enormous financings. In Q3 alone, just 27 companies raising billion-dollar-plus rounds captured about one-third of all funding. Meanwhile, North American venture deal counts fell 16% year over year even as funding dollars jumped 50%. We use three charts to illustrate the widening gap between the startups attracting record amounts of capital and those facing an increasingly difficult fundraising environment, particularly at the seed and early stages.

Startup investors wrote some enormous checks last week, led by a $2.1 billion financing for manufacturing company Re:Build and a $1 billion Series G for prediction market Kalshi, which reached a $40 billion valuation. Construction automation startup Bedrock Robotics followed with a $600 million round, while other sizable investments went to companies spanning biotech, batteries, defense tech and enterprise AI.

Travel tech startups have raised just $2.2 billion across 302 rounds through Q3, Crunchbase data shows, putting 2026 on pace to be the sector's weakest funding year since at least 2018. That's a far cry from the more than $12 billion raised during the pandemic-era peak in 2021. AI is a recurring theme among the companies still attracting large checks, including hotel management platform Mews, which raised $300 million, and travel booking technology startup Stay22, which secured $122 million. But the exit picture remains mixed, with established travel companies acquiring AI startups while travel experiences platform Klook recently withdrew its planned U.S. IPO.

Growing revenue doesn't necessarily mean a startup is becoming more valuable — and founders who wait too long to sell may discover that the hard way. In his latest Crunchbase News column, startup adviser Itay Sagie illustrates how a hypothetical SaaS company could grow annual recurring revenue by 33% yet see its enterprise value fall 22% as valuation multiples compress. He argues that founders and boards should pay closer attention to what potential buyers will actually pay rather than assuming another year of growth will automatically produce a better exit.

That’s how much U.S. startups have raised in Series B funding rounds so far this year, the highest total in years. But deal counts are on track for a multiyear low. We look at how the growing divide between jumbo financings and smaller rounds is reshaping the Series B market.