Reporting and analysis on payments, AI infrastructure, capital markets and the business of financial media.
Global venture funding fell to $159 billion in Q3 2026, its quietest quarter of the year, yet AI still took 64% of it and a record 27 companies raised $1 billion or more. Here is where the money went, and what was left for everyone else.
SpaceX's $75 billion IPO helped push US venture-backed exit value past $2 trillion this year. But as of early August, four companies made up 93.5% of 2026 exit value, only 18 venture-backed companies listed in Q3, and the investors in VC funds are still waiting for most of their money back.
African startups raised $2.16 billion in the first nine months of 2026, roughly flat on last year. Underneath, equity rose 23% and debt fell by a third. Nigeria went from its weakest share on record in 2025 to the top of the equity table, then had a near-empty September.
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TOBI·AMURE
