Global Venture Funding in October 2026

Global venture funding in October totaled $59 billion, a 45% jump from a year earlier, per Crunchbase data, in large part due to a record-setting deal for China’s DeepSeek. The company’s $15.9 billion funding round marked the largest-ever venture deal for a Chinese company ever, and came in the same month that two other frontier labs raised blockbuster Series A rounds totaling at or close to $1 billion.

The bulk of October’s venture funding was invested in the two leading countries for startup investment, with companies based in the U.S. and China raising $28 billion and $20.6 billion last month, respectively. The last time more than $20 billion was invested in China in a single month was June 2018.

Funding concentration

Funding concentrated in seven companies that raised billion-dollar rounds, accounting for just over 40% of October’s venture funding. These large amounts were invested in frontier labs, manufacturing, energy, semiconductors, prediction markets and spend management software. Private equity led much of this funding.

Key Players

• DeepSeek: $15.9 billion raise at a valuation of $90 billion.
• Re:Build: $2.1 billion funding deal, focused on manufacturing capacity.
• Axiom: $2 billion for data center capacity.
• Ramp: $1.85 billion raised.
• Tenstorrent: $1.5 billion Series E funding.
• Kalshi: $1 billion Series E round.
• Flapping Airplanes: $1 billion Series A round.

AI-driven Companies

A total of 66% of global funding was in AI-driven companies in October, indicating a significant trend toward AI technology within the venture market.

Looking Ahead

With two months remaining, 2026 has already set records for acquisitions, IPOs and funding rounds across major venture markets. The momentum is evident as companies prepare for potential larger IPOs in the upcoming months.