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PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q3 2026 (National Venture Capital Association (NVCA))

ReportNational Venture Capital Association (NVCA)January 202636 pages54 min readOriginal source
Key number
$515.8 billion USD
US VC Deal Value YTD p.9
Largest segment
82.7% %
AI Share of Total VC Deal Value p.9
What changed
44% %
VC Deal Value Growth vs 2021 Record p.9

Summary

  • US venture capital deal value reached $515.8 billion across an estimated 14,199 deals through the first three quarters of 2026.p.9
  • Artificial intelligence accounted for 82.7% of total US VC deal value through Q3 2026.p.9
  • The active unicorn population reached a record 992 companies with a combined valuation of $5.7 trillion.p.31
  • US VC fundraising totaled $108.5 billion raised across 699 funds through Q3 2026, representing a 38.6% increase over full-year 2025.p.32
  • Venture debt activity reached nearly $82 billion deployed across VC-backed companies in 2026.p.24
  • Startups with all-female founding teams received 0.7% of total venture capital deal value year-to-date.p.17

Key insights

  1. Q3 2026 deal value fell to $98.4 billion, down roughly 40% from the second quarter, despite a near-record 5,012 estimated closed deals.p.9
  2. Andreessen Horowitz closed funds totaling $23.8 billion through Q3 2026, accounting for more than 20% of all US venture capital raised.p.32
  3. SpaceX's $60 billion all-stock acquisition of Cursor in Q3 represents the second-largest M&A deal involving a venture-backed company on record.p.29
  4. Established VC firms accounted for 88.2% of total capital raised through Q3 2026, a decade-high share.p.32

Topics and entities

USAI in financeCorporate venture capitalIPOs and listingsM&A and exitsPrivate debt and venture debtPrivate marketsStartup fundingVenture capitalAndreessen HorowitzAnthropicBessemer Venture PartnersDatabricksDentonsEisnerAmperJ.P. MorganNational Venture Capital AssociationOpenAIPitchBook Data, Inc.SalesforceSpaceXStripe

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