Series B Funding Is Up, But Fewer Deals Are Getting Done
Crunchbase data shows that so far this year, investors have poured around $48 billion into financings around the Series B stage, the highest tally in years. Yet round counts are below year-ago levels and are on track for a multiyear low. We take a look at the data.
In 2026, U.S. Series B startup funding is on the rise, but the number of deals is dwindling. Venture capital investment has been heavily concentrated around a few AI-focused companies. According to Crunchbase data, $48 billion has been poured into Series B financings so far this year, the highest amount in recent years. However, round counts are below last year's levels and are projected to reach a multiyear low.
Smaller Series B rounds are increasingly scarce. Less than a third of deals in the sample this year were for under $30 million, compared to about half in 2021-2025. The smallest Series B deals have become particularly rare, with only 26 rounds under $10 million this year.
On the other hand, large Series B rounds are still popular. At least 110 companies have raised $100 million or more at this stage this year, accounting for roughly a quarter of all deals. Prominent recipients include Prometheus, a $12 billion round led by Jeff Bezos' physical AI startup, and World Labs, a $1 billion round for the AI model developer founded by Fei-Fei Li.
The majority of Series B funding this year has gone to AI startups, making up about two-thirds of the total. This trend is consistent with 2025, where AI companies received half of the investment. The largest share of AI-focused deals belong to companies that have already raised significant sums at earlier stages. Overall, the climate appears favorable for Series B investment, especially for AI startups with proven traction, but smaller round sizes are becoming increasingly scarce.
Written by urgent.news from Crunchbase News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.