US startups raised $20.83B across 563 rounds in October, down 25% from September and up 71% from October 2025. Four rounds of $1B or more, from Ramp, Tenstorrent, Flapping Airplanes and Kalshi, totaled $5.35B, or 26% of the month. Series A was the surprise: its $5.11B total jumped 72% from September’s $2.97B, with three rounds of $400M or more taking $2.27B of it.
- Four $1B+ rounds took 26% of capital. Ramp ($1.85B), Tenstorrent ($1.5B), Flapping Airplanes ($1B) and Kalshi ($1B) raised $5.35B. The 43 rounds of $100M or more raised $14.25B, 68% of the month.
- Series A swelled. Capital reached $5.11B, up from $2.97B in September. Flapping Airplanes ($1B), TypeSafe AI ($870M) and Atlas Atomics ($400M) accounted for $2.27B, 44% of the stage.
- Late-Stage cooled. Series C and later raised $10.77B, 52% of capital, down from $19.84B and 71% in September.
- AI kept its grip. 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 drew big checks. Bedrock Robotics ($600M), Oratomic ($475M) and Atlas Atomics ($400M) put autonomous construction, quantum computing and nuclear energy among the month’s largest rounds.
- New York held 23.7% of US capital. Ramp, Kalshi and Modal alone raised $3.60B, and NYC companies took 40% of US Late-Stage dollars.
October 2026 US Funding Highlights
+71% vs. Oct 2025
US Funding by Stage: October 2026
| Stage | Rounds | Capital | Share | Largest Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early-Stage | 341 | $1.98B | 9.5% | Dream Labs ($90M) |
| Series A | 121 | $5.11B | 24.5% | Flapping Airplanes ($1.00B) |
| Series B | 50 | $2.98B | 14.3% | Oratomic ($475M) |
| Late-Stage | 51 | $10.77B | 51.7% | Ramp ($1.85B) |
| Total | 563 | $20.83B | 100.0% |
Top 10 US Funding Rounds: October 2026
| # | Company | Amount | Round | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ramp spend management |
$1.85B | Series G | Dragoneer, Thrive Capital, Founders Fund |
| 2 | Tenstorrent AI chips |
$1.50B | Series E | Trace Capital, Innovation X |
| 3 | Flapping Airplanes AI research lab |
$1.00B | Series A | Index Ventures, Lux Capital |
| 4 | Kalshi prediction market |
$1.00B | Series G | Sequoia Capital, Wellington Management |
| 5 | TypeSafe AI AI models and tools |
$870M | Series A | Andreessen Horowitz |
| 6 | Modal Labs AI cloud infrastructure |
$750M | Series D | Accel |
| 7 | Bedrock Robotics autonomous construction equipment |
$600M | Series C | CapitalG, Emergence Capital |
| 8 | Oratomic quantum computing |
$475M | Series B | ARCH Venture Partners |
| 9 | Atlas Atomics nuclear energy |
$400M | Series A | Undisclosed |
| 10 | ASI AI for aviation and defense |
$325M | Series C | Spark Capital |
The top 10 rounds totaled $8.77B, or 42% of October capital.
October 2026: The Month in Detail
Late-Stage: 51 rounds, $10.77B
Ramp raised $1.85B in a Series G led by Dragoneer and Thrive Capital, and Tenstorrent closed a $1.5B Series E at a $6.2B valuation. Kalshi raised $1B in a Series G co-led by Sequoia Capital and Wellington Management, and Modal Labs added a $750M Series D led by Accel. Bedrock Robotics raised a $600M Series C co-led by CapitalG and Emergence Capital, and ASI raised a $325M Series C led by Spark Capital. Xona followed with a $250M Series D.
Series B: 50 rounds, $2.98B
Oratomic raised $475M for fault-tolerant quantum computers, three months after its Series A. Armadin ($255.5M), Vinci ($250M), Arena ($200M) and Type One Energy ($200M) followed.
Series A: 121 rounds, $5.11B
Flapping Airplanes raised $1B at a $6B valuation from Index Ventures and Lux Capital, and TypeSafe AI raised $870M at a $7.5B valuation in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Atlas Atomics raised about $400M for a nuclear reactor at a $1.9B valuation. Those three rounds made up 44% of the stage. Warp Sciences ($215M), Arda ($160M) and Eka Robotics ($150M) came next.
Early-Stage: 341 rounds, $1.98B
Dream Labs raised a $90M seed led by B Capital for a robot foundation model. Oro Mobility and OptimizeGEO.ai raised $80M each, followed by &Truth ($70M), Hone ($60M) and Teddy AI ($60M). The median Early-Stage round was $2.7M.
US Funding by Sector: October 2026
AI infrastructure set the pace. Tenstorrent ($1.5B), TypeSafe AI ($870M), Modal ($750M) and Flapping Airplanes ($1B) built out chips, models and cloud capacity. In fintech, Ramp and Kalshi raised $2.85B between them. Hard tech was broad: Bedrock Robotics, Oratomic and Atlas Atomics each raised $400M or more. Defense and space drew ASI ($325M), Xona ($250M) and Firehawk Aerospace ($150M). Health was led by Pathos ($237M), Warp Sciences ($215M) and Star Therapeutics ($200M), and Armadin’s $255.5M led cybersecurity.
NYC vs. US: October 2026
| Metric | NYC | US | NYC Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Raised | $4.94B | $20.83B | 23.7% |
| Rounds | 54 | 563 | 9.6% |
| Average Round | $91.6M | $37.0M | |
| Change vs. Oct 2025 (capital) | +254% | +71% | |
| Change vs. Sep 2026 (capital) | +61% | -25% |
By Stage
| Stage | NYC Rounds | US Rounds | NYC Share | NYC Capital | US Capital | NYC Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early-Stage | 19 | 341 | 5.6% | $114.4M | $1.98B | 5.8% |
| Series A | 18 | 121 | 14.9% | $332.6M | $5.11B | 6.5% |
| Series B | 7 | 50 | 14.0% | $228.2M | $2.98B | 7.7% |
| Late-Stage | 10 | 51 | 19.6% | $4.27B | $10.77B | 39.6% |
| Total | 54 | 563 | 9.6% | $4.94B | $20.83B | 23.7% |
Looking Ahead: US Startup Funding in Q4 2026
Q3 closed at about $65.43B, and Q4 opens with $20.83B in October. The month leaned on four $1B+ rounds and a Series A stage swollen by three outsized raises, so November will show whether capital keeps flowing to a handful of companies or spreads out. October figures will move as late-reported rounds arrive. Explore every round at the AlleyWatch funding index.
Methodology
Figures come from AlleyWatch’s US startup funding data and use disclosed round sizes. Undisclosed rounds are excluded, as are corporate rounds, private equity and debt. Early-Stage covers Pre-Seed, Seed, Angel, Accelerator and Incubator rounds, Series A and Series B are reported individually, and Late-Stage covers Series C and later. Year-over-year and month-over-month comparisons use previously published AlleyWatch totals.
