The Other 95%: Q3 2026

US close-up: 5% of deals took 75% of the money, and pre-seed rounds fell 22%

PitchBook and the NVCA count about 5,000 US deals in Q3, worth $98.4B. Deals of $100M or more were about 5% of them, but took 75% of the money. The other ~95% of US deals shared roughly $25B, about $5M each.

At the very start, Carta sees fewer pre-seed rounds: 11,546 SAFEs and notes in Q2 2026, 22% fewer than in Q2 2025. The total cash was flat at about $3.2B, so each cheque got bigger, a record $276K on average. PitchBook-NVCA counts 211 emerging managers closing a fund in the first nine months of 2026, against 440 in all of 2025 and 927 in 2022.

PitchBook counts record first-time financings this year, unlike CB Insights. PitchBook includes pre-seed and estimates deals that have not been reported yet, so the two are not comparable.

Sources: PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor Q3 2026 (the split and average are our rough calculation from PitchBook’s rounded shares); Carta, State of Pre-Seed Q2 2026.

Canada close-up: money is up but deals keep falling, and seed money is down 31%

Canadian startups raised about $1.95B (C$2.69B) in the first half of 2026, across 250 deals (CVCA). Money is up 17%, but deals are down 9%, the fifth first half in a row with fewer deals. 16 rounds of about $36M (C$50M) or more took 59% of the money, and the five rounds over about $73M (C$100M) alone took 30%.

Rounds under about $18M (C$25M) were 85% of all deals, but got only 32% of the money. Seed is where it hurts most: seed money fell 31% to about $207M (C$285M), across 82 deals. Early-stage money (Series A and B) went up 24%, to $856M across 68 deals. KPMG, which counts differently, says Q3 was Canada’s lowest quarter since 2018.

Source: CVCA, H1 2026 Canadian Market Overview (Aug 2026); the 30% figure is from NCFA’s summary of the same data. Converted at C$1.378 per US$. Changes worked out in C$.

UK close-up: 11 giant rounds took 65% of the money, and the other deals averaged $2.7M

Beauhurst counted 1,168 UK equity deals in Q3 2026, worth about $8.9B (£6.59B). So far this year, deals are down 13% on 2025 and the money is up 22%. 11 giant rounds of $134M (£100M) or more took 65% of the quarter’s money, double their share a year ago (32%). Take those 11 out, and the other 1,157 deals shared about $3.1B (£2.3B), roughly $2.7M (£2.0M) each, against $7.6M across all deals.

Below £100M, the money is shrinking: it fell 25% over the first nine months, while the average round grew 42% to £5.4M. The middle seed round is still valued at about $2.7M (£2.0M) pre-money, where it has been since late 2025. First-time rounds are 44% of UK deals this year, up from 35% in 2021. Tech.eu counts about $325M (€282M) of seed money in Q3, announced rounds only.

Source: Beauhurst, The Deal Q3 2026; Tech.eu Funding Explorer, UK Q3 2026. Converted at £0.744 per US$. Averages are our calculation.

Germany close-up: six rounds took three-quarters of the money, and fewer startups raised $1.2M or more

German startups raised about $5.2B (€4.5B) in Q3 2026, the biggest quarter since 2021 (KfW). Six megadeals of over $115M (€100M) took about $4.0B (€3.5B) of it, more than three-quarters. Two defence deals were over $1.15B (€1B) each. The other rounds shared about $1.2B (€1B). Only 89 rounds of $1.15M (€1M) or more closed, the fewest in any third quarter in years.

Over the first nine months, 276 rounds of about $1.2M (€1M) or more closed, 9% fewer than a year ago (304). The median round has doubled since 2023 (€2.1M), to about $5.0M (€4.3M) this year.

Source: KfW Research, VC Dashboard Germany Q3 2026. Converted at €0.869 per US$ (Q3) and €0.861 (Jan–Sep). Changes worked out in euros.

France close-up: money is up 65%, but 10% fewer companies raised and one round was 77% of Q3

EY counts about $5.4B (€4.6B) raised by French startups in the first half of 2026, up 65%. But only 280 companies raised, 10% fewer than a year ago. The five biggest rounds took about $2.3B (€2B): AMI Labs, Alan, Pennylane, Pasqal and Bionyra. The other ~275 companies shared about $3.0B (€2.6B), roughly $11M (€9.5M) each.

In Q3, one round, Mistral AI’s $3.5B (€3.0B), was 77% of all announced French equity (Tech.eu), and the number of rounds fell 17%. Without Mistral, Skello and Ingenico, the other ~45 announced rounds shared about $630M (€550M). Seed money was about $53M (€46M).

Sources: EY, Baromètre du capital-risque H1 2026 (converted at €0.857); Tech.eu Funding Explorer, France Q3 2026, announced rounds only (converted at €0.869). Splits are our calculation.

Sweden and the Netherlands: two rounds each took most of the money

Sweden. Swedish startups raised about $1.5B (€1.3B) of announced equity in Q3, up 165%. But two companies, Neko Health ($707M) and Lovable ($398M), took 74% of it. The other ~46 rounds shared about $390M (€340M), roughly $8.5M each. Seed money was about $53M (€46M). PitchBook also finds the Nordics are Europe’s fastest-growing region in 2026.

Netherlands. Dutch startups raised about $1.15B (€1.0B) of announced equity, up 7%. But announced rounds fell 68%, to 29 (one of them a debt round). Two rounds, Wonderful ($547M) and EUCLYD ($230M), took about two-thirds. The other ~26 rounds shared about $370M (€325M). Seed money was about $38M (€33M). A drop this large in announced rounds may partly be a counting effect; CB Insights shows Dutch early-stage deals down 42% this year.

Source: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, Q3 2026 (announced rounds only; data as of 30–31 Oct 2026). Our calculation. Converted at €0.869 per US$.

Spain, Italy, Central and Eastern Europe, and Israel

Each market uses its own source and period, so read each one on its own. The like-for-like comparison is the table above, from CB Insights.

Spain, Q3. Spanish startups raised about $1.27B (€1.1B) of announced equity, up 110%, across 66 rounds. Five rounds of $115M (€100M) or more, including Fever and PLD Space, took about $830M. The other ~60 rounds shared about $435M, roughly $7M each (Tech.eu).

Israel, Q3. Israeli tech raised about $3.6B in 91 disclosed rounds, up 53% (IVC and LeumiTech, early figures). About $1B of it went to pre-seed to Series A companies. CB Insights shows Israel’s early-stage deals down 28% this year.

Italy, H1. Italian startups raised about $790M (€679M), up 37% (VeM Observatory, AIFI). The report does not separate out the big rounds, so we can’t show what the rest got.

Central and Eastern Europe, 2026 so far. The weakest part of Europe. PitchBook says money here is on pace to fall about 56% this year. Only about $0.8B (€0.7B) has been raised so far.

Sources: Tech.eu Funding Explorer, Spain Q3 2026; IVC and LeumiTech Q3 2026, preliminary; VeM Observatory, LIUC and AIFI, H1 2026; PitchBook, European Venture Report Q3 2026.

China close-up: the only market growing, mostly with local money for AI and robotics

IT Juzi, a Chinese data company, counts 3,566 startup deals in China in Q3 2026, 42% more than a year ago. Startups raised about $63B in total (RMB 424.8B). 43 of those deals were over about $148M (RMB 1B) each: about 1% of the deals, but 46% of the money. The other 3,523 deals shared about $34B. The middle deal was about $3M (RMB 20M), the same as last year.

Three out of four deals were early-stage, from seed to Series A (2,670 of 3,566). AI deals more than doubled to 513, and robotics deals went up 65% to 339. Most of the money is Chinese: about 90% of what Chinese funds raised this year is in RMB, 85% of the money in Chinese funds comes from Chinese investors, and only 10% of Chinese startup deals have a foreign investor (PitchBook).

Sources: IT Juzi Q3 2026 data, via 36Kr (14 Oct 2026), converted at RMB 6.74 per US$, split is our calculation; PitchBook, APAC Private Capital Outlook 2026 Midyear.

India close-up: fewer founders get a first cheque, but the ones who do get more

Indian startups raised $2.2B in Q3, across 210 deals, at all stages (Inc42). 4 of those were giant rounds of $100M or more. They took $450M, about a fifth of the money. The other 206 deals shared about $1.75B. The typical early-stage cheque was $1.2M, up 20%.

But fewer founders are getting a first cheque. Seed money is down 37% this year, to $698M, and 30% fewer companies raised money for the first time, 338 in total (Tracxn, 1 January to 21 September). The money is moving to Series A and B instead, which went up 38% to $1.1B across 90 deals. Seed and pre-A money fell 18% to $164M across 93 deals (Inc42). Investors want to see some proof before they come in. 63% of investors told Inc42 that AI valuations are too high.

Sources: Inc42, Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q3 2026; Tracxn India Tech 9M 2026.

Japan and Southeast Asia: the totals look fine, but most founders are getting less

Japan, first half of 2026. Japanese startups raised about $3.2B (¥503.3B), up 4%. That looks flat. But big rounds of about $32M (¥5B) or more more than doubled, to about $490M. Without them, the rest of the money was about $2.7B, down 5%. In total, 1,061 startups raised money, 35% fewer than a year ago.

Southeast Asia, first half of 2026. Southeast Asian startups raised $7.9B across 288 deals in six months, more than in the whole of 2025 ($6.7B). But about 90% went to a few large rounds. One data-centre company, DayOne, raised $4.5B on its own. The other ~245 deals shared about $0.8B, roughly $3M each. Singapore’s first rounds are down 34% this year (CB Insights).

Sources: H1 2026 Startup Investment Trends Report, via Blackbox JP (converted at ¥158.1 per US$; changes in yen; ¥425B, ▼5% and ▲126% are our calculation); PitchBook, APAC Breakdown: Southeast Asia H1 2026 ($0.8B, ~245 deals and $3M are our rough calculation).

Middle East and North Africa: a few big rounds hide a 45% drop in early-stage deals

Startups in the Middle East and North Africa raised about $3B across 351 deals in the first nine months of 2026 (MAGNiTT). That is 7% less money and 33% fewer deals than a year ago. 6 of those deals were giant rounds of $100M or more. They took about $1.5B, half the money. The other 345 deals shared the other $1.5B, roughly $4.3M each, and that money is down 32%.

The UAE grew 17% to $1.6B, but close to $1B of that came from big rounds. Saudi Arabia fell 29% to $1.0B and Egypt fell 20% to $206M. More of the money is local: investors based in the region put in 58% of the money, up from 50%, and US investors 9%, down from 15%.

Source: MAGNiTT 9M 2026 data, via EnterpriseAM (12 Oct 2026). The split and average are our calculation. MAGNiTT also covers North Africa.

Brazil and Mexico close-up: equity rounds in Brazil have halved since 2024

Sling Hub counts 202 equity rounds in Brazil from January to September 2026, against 436 in the same months of 2024. That is 54% fewer in two years. The average equity round in Q3 was $5.4M. Without Decade’s $85M seed round, it was $4.1M.

Two very large “seed” rounds, Kesh Bank ($107M, equity and debt) and Decade ($85M), were 72% of all Latin American seed money in Q3. Without them, the rest of the seed money was about $74M.

Mexico had its best quarter of 2026. KPMG puts it at $693M, up from $441M in Q2, led by fintech such as Kapital ($125M). Brazil rose from $390M to $609M.

Sources: Sling Hub, via O Elo (27 Oct 2026); Crunchbase News, Q3 2026 LatAm funding (our calculation); KPMG Venture Pulse Q3 2026, quarter on quarter.

Africa close-up: equity is up, but 44% fewer startups raised a small first round

African startups raised $797M in Q3, about the same as a year ago. $580M of it was equity, up 146%. One company, Moove, raised $250M, about 43% of the equity. Without Moove, equity was still up about 40%.

But far fewer startups are getting a first cheque. In the first half, startups raising $100K to $1M fell 44%, and only 190 companies raised $100K or more, the fewest since 2021. Disclosed deals in the first half fell 42%, from 252 to 146. KPMG says the focus on bigger, more mature companies has made pre-seed and seed money tighter.

Sources: Africa: The Big Deal data, via Technext (Oct 2026) and Daba Finance (Jul 2026). Our calculation.

Australia close-up: the biggest quarter on record, but one company took 69% of it

Australian startups raised about $3.0B (A$4.2B) in Q3, the biggest quarter on record (Cut Through Venture). But one company, Firmus, an AI data-centre company, raised about $2.0B (A$2.85B) of it, 69%. The five biggest deals took 88%. The other ~87 rounds shared about $360M (A$500M). All the rounds under about $7M (A$10M) together raised about $114M, just 4% of the money.

Source: Cut Through Venture, Cut Through Quarterly 3Q 2026 (Oct 2026). Converted at A$1.416 per US$. The split is our calculation.