January 2026
VENTURE CAPITAL REPORT
VENTURE CAPITAL REPORT
The report analyzes the VC market in the Americas and Europe, focusing on growth- and late-stage companies. It includes statistics on deals, capital raised, valuations, funding round sizes,
and descriptions of new unicorns.
SUMMARY
Monthly Americas and Europe
VC Market Report
Feb 13, 2025
VC Market Report
Feb 13, 2025
Deal Count & Total Capital Invested
In January 2026, the number of deals concluded by VC-backed companies with a valuation of $100M or more decreased by 18% compared to December (137 deals) to 112 deals. Year-over-year, the number of deals declined by 26%.
In 2024-2025, deal count grew slightly, facilitated by the gradual easing of monetary policy by the Fed and the ECB. At the same time, interest rates remain high as of now. The slight decline in overall deal count in January is due to an increase in activity in the $250M+ segment compared to the previous month.
In 2024-2025, deal count grew slightly, facilitated by the gradual easing of monetary policy by the Fed and the ECB. At the same time, interest rates remain high as of now. The slight decline in overall deal count in January is due to an increase in activity in the $250M+ segment compared to the previous month.
Deal structure by valuation segments, January 2026
In total, the late-stage segment accounted for 43% of the total number of deals in January 2026.
Fact
Total capital invested in venture-backed companies worth over $100M in January was $13.8B, which is 19% or $3.30B less than in December ($17.1B). Compared to January last year, the investment volume increased by 23%.
In 2025, the venture capital market showed signs of recovery amid easing financial conditions associated with the start of a cycle of federal funds rate cuts in September 2024. We expect that these macroeconomic dynamics, along with growth in the average size of investment rounds, increased liquidity in the exit market, and the continuing AI boom, could lead to moderate, and under favorable conditions, more pronounced growth in venture capital investment in 2026.
In December 2025, the US Federal Reserve decided to cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.50-3.75%, a decision that was in line with market expectations and the third in 2025.
According to the baseline forecast of the Federal Reserve Board members, the rate will be at 3.00-3.25% by the end of 2026.
In December 2025, the US Federal Reserve decided to cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 3.50-3.75%, a decision that was in line with market expectations and the third in 2025.
According to the baseline forecast of the Federal Reserve Board members, the rate will be at 3.00-3.25% by the end of 2026.
Invested capital ($B) structure by valuation segments, January 2026
Invested capital and deal count for VC companies valued at $100M+ and Fed Funds Rate, 2022-2026
- In January 2026, a total of $15.1B was raised in Series B and above rounds, with $4.4B coming from Series B and $4.8B from Series C, $3.4B from Series D, and $2.5B from Series E+.
- Throughout 2023–2025, growth- and late-stage investment showed steady growth. If the current trend continues, 2026 could be even more active. AI companies are making a significant contribution to this dynamic, as they scale their businesses and monetize their products, moving on to later investment rounds, including Series D/E/F.
Median Round Size & Post-Money Valuation
Median round size by valuation segments, 2022-2026, $M
Early stages show stable dynamics in median investment round sizes, while later stages demonstrate high volatility due to the effect of individual large deals.
The median round size in January 2026 for companies valued at $1B+ was $250M (+25% MoM), while for the $100-250M, $250-500M and $500-$1B segments, it reached $29M (+14% MoM), $56M (+5% MoM) and $104M (+28% MoM), respectively.
The median round size in January 2026 for companies valued at $1B+ was $250M (+25% MoM), while for the $100-250M, $250-500M and $500-$1B segments, it reached $29M (+14% MoM), $56M (+5% MoM) and $104M (+28% MoM), respectively.
The trend of longer time intervals between rounds indicates that investors remain selective in their investments amid high cost of capital, with startups taking longer to reach the next round criteria.
The extension of investment intervals is particularly notable for companies valued up to $500M-1B, supporting the trend towards investor caution. In January, the median time between rounds in the $100-250M, $250-500M and $500M-1B segments was 33 months, 17 months and 21 months, respectively.
At the same time, companies with valuations of $1B+ are raising money faster as investors bet on assets with higher financial strength. In January, the median time between rounds in the $1B+ segment was 10 months.
The extension of investment intervals is particularly notable for companies valued up to $500M-1B, supporting the trend towards investor caution. In January, the median time between rounds in the $100-250M, $250-500M and $500M-1B segments was 33 months, 17 months and 21 months, respectively.
At the same time, companies with valuations of $1B+ are raising money faster as investors bet on assets with higher financial strength. In January, the median time between rounds in the $1B+ segment was 10 months.
Median time between investment rounds in the 1B+ valuation segment, 2022-2026, in months
Median post-money valuation by valuation group, 2022-2026, $M
- $1B+ companies show the most significant volatility in post-money valuation, However, in 2024-2025, there is a trend toward an increase in the median valuation of unicorns ($1B+).
- At the end of January, the median post-money valuation in the $1B+ segment was $1.79B (-39% MoM), while for the $100-250M, $250-500M and $500-$1B segments the figure reached $0.14B (+0% MoM), $0.33B (+10% MoM) and $0.78B (+16% MoM), respectively.
Fact
In January 2026, median valuation step-up for the $1B+ segment was 2.7x, while for companies valued at $100-250M, $250-500M, and $500-1000M, it reached 1.9x, 2.8x and 2.9x, respectively.
In January 2026, unicorns ($1B+) demonstrated a moderate median valuation step-up, which is explained by historically more restrained revaluation multiples at later stages, as well as heightened sensitivity of such companies to macro conditions. At the same time, current multiples (with a few exceptions) are at a level similar to early stages, which reflects continued strong investor interest in late-stage companies.
Median valuation step-up for companies with $1B+ valuation, 2022-2026
Key statistics for Growth and Late Stage companies, January 2026
Exits & Bankruptcies
The number of VC exits reached 26 in January 2026: 22 of them were made through M&A (acquisition of a controlling stake by a strategic investor) and another 4 through Buyout (acquisition of a controlling stake by a PE investor).
The total volume of deals associated with VC exits dropped to $26B, which is 64% less from a month earlier.
During 2023-2024, the number of bankruptcies remained at a high level with peaks in May (103) and July (99) 2024, but in the second half of 2024, the number of bankruptcies the number of bankruptcies began to decline and in January 2026 returned to a level close to that of 2021-2022, totaling 36 cases. Further dynamics will depend on macroeconomic conditions and capital availability.
The total volume of deals associated with VC exits dropped to $26B, which is 64% less from a month earlier.
During 2023-2024, the number of bankruptcies remained at a high level with peaks in May (103) and July (99) 2024, but in the second half of 2024, the number of bankruptcies the number of bankruptcies began to decline and in January 2026 returned to a level close to that of 2021-2022, totaling 36 cases. Further dynamics will depend on macroeconomic conditions and capital availability.
Number of bankruptcies, 2022-2026
Top-5* New Rounds Raised by Companies with $1B+ Valuation
* Sorted by post-money valuation
* Sorted by post-money valuation
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ClickHouseClickHouse– open-source, column-oriented OLAP database designed for ultra-fast SQL analytics and real-time reporting at scale
- Industry: AI & ML, Big Data, CloudTech & DevOps
- Round size: $400M (Series D)
- Round date: 16 Jan 2026
- Total funding: $1.05B
- Valuation: $15.00B
- Investors: Bessemer Venture Partners, GIC Private, Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, The Goldman Sachs Group, Khosla Ventures, Battery Ventures, Peak XV Partners
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Skild AISkild AI – robotics AI company developing foundation model “Skild Brain” intended to generalize across robot types and tasks
- Industry: Advanced Manufacturing, AI & ML, Big Data, Manufacturing, Robotics and Drones
- Round size: $1.4B (Series C)
- Round date: 14 Jan 2026
- Total funding: $2.21B
- Valuation: $14.00B
- Investors: Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, General Catalyst, Lightspeed Ventures, Khosla Ventures, SV Angel, Salesforce Ventures, Menlo Ventures, CRV
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OpenEvidenceOpenEvidence– AI-powered medical search/copilot used by physicians that answers clinical questions with citations grounded in peer-reviewed medical sources
- Industry: AI & ML, HealthTech, Life Sciences
- Round size: $250M (Series D)
- Round date: 21 Jan 2026
- Total funding: $795.40M
- Valuation: $12.00B
- Investors: Sequoia Capital, Blackstone, Kleiner Perkins, GV, Nvidia
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ReplitReplit–cloud development platform/online IDE that lets users build, collaborate, and deploy software from the browser, including via its AI “Replit Agent”
- Industry: AI & ML, Big Data, CloudTech & DevOps
- Round size: $400M (Later Stage VC)
- Round date: 16 Jan 2026
- Total funding: $878.04M
- Valuation: $9.00B
- Investors: Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, SV Angel, Flybridge
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CyeraCyera – data-security platform (DSPM) that discovers and classifies sensitive data across environments and helps reduce exposure and compliance risk
- Industry: AI & ML, Big Data, Cybersecurity
- Round size: $400M (Series F)
- Round date: 09 Jan 2026
- Total funding: $1.70B
- Valuation: $9.00B
- Investors: Sequoia Capital, Accel, Blackstone, Lightspeed Ventures Partners, Soma Capital, CRV, Redpoint Ventures
Important notice: The figures presented in the reports for previous periods may be subject to subsequent backward-looking adjustments in later reports due to the delay in obtaining data on closed transactions and the possibility of their adjustments in the market intelligence systems used to extract deal data.
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