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Startup funding by industry

Updated 23 Oct 2026

Startups closed 20,088 funding rounds from October 2025 to September 2026. Software startups took 10,108 of them (50.3%), more than any other industry. Source: FundingWatcher, October 2026.

Value
20,088
Unit
startup funding rounds dated October 2025 to September 2026
Data as of
23 October 2026
Source
FundingWatcher, October 2026
Startup funding rounds per month by industry, October 2025 to September 2026SoftwareAIHealth careHardwareOther07501,500Oct 25Nov 25Dec 25Jan 26Feb 26Mar 26Apr 26May 26Jun 26Jul 26Aug 26Sep 26FintechBiotechCommerceEnergyCybersecurityEducationSoftwareSoftware, Oct 25: 846Software, Nov 25: 714Software, Dec 25: 774Software, Jan 26: 1,128Software, Feb 26: 806Software, Mar 26: 934Software, Apr 26: 716Software, May 26: 692Software, Jun 26: 1,007Software, Jul 26: 766Software, Aug 26: 758Software, Sep 26: 967AIAI, Oct 25: 528AI, Nov 25: 444AI, Dec 25: 503AI, Jan 26: 764AI, Feb 26: 510AI, Mar 26: 608AI, Apr 26: 470AI, May 26: 470AI, Jun 26: 773AI, Jul 26: 571AI, Aug 26: 560AI, Sep 26: 730Health careHealth care, Oct 25: 304Health care, Nov 25: 275Health care, Dec 25: 280Health care, Jan 26: 378Health care, Feb 26: 244Health care, Mar 26: 276Health care, Apr 26: 219Health care, May 26: 224Health care, Jun 26: 319Health care, Jul 26: 231Health care, Aug 26: 220Health care, Sep 26: 321HardwareHardware, Oct 25: 177Hardware, Nov 25: 195Hardware, Dec 25: 216Hardware, Jan 26: 293Hardware, Feb 26: 206Hardware, Mar 26: 256Hardware, Apr 26: 176Hardware, May 26: 185Hardware, Jun 26: 254Hardware, Jul 26: 218Hardware, Aug 26: 269Hardware, Sep 26: 304Software 967AI 730Health care 321Hardware 304
Figure 1. Startup funding rounds per month by industry, October 2025 to September 2026. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026.
Startup funding rounds by industry, October 2025 to September 2026Software10,108Artificial intelligence6,931Health care3,291Hardware2,749Fintech2,253Biotech1,390Commerce1,192Energy848Cybersecurity779Education565
Figure 2. Startup funding rounds by industry, October 2025 to September 2026. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026.
Rounds, median round and dollars raised by industry, October 2025 to September 20260.007.57,50015.015,000Rounds →↑ Median round, $MSoftware: 10,108, 2.8AI: 6,931, 3.2Hardware: 2,749, 6.9Health care: 3,291, 4.5Biotech: 1,390, 10.4Fintech: 2,253, 3.5Energy: 848, 4.7Cybersecurity: 779, 5.8Commerce: 1,192, 2.3Education: 565, 1.0SoftwareAIHardwareHealth careBiotechFintechEnergyCybersecurityCommerceEducation
Figure 3. Rounds, median round and dollars raised by industry, October 2025 to September 2026. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026.

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Industry

IndustryRoundsShare of all roundsRaisedMedian round
Software10,10850.3%$196.3B$2.8M
Artificial intelligence6,93134.5%$170.2B$3.2M
Health care3,29116.4%$48.4B$4.5M
Hardware2,74913.7%$93.7B$6.9M
Fintech2,25311.2%$30.5B$3.5M
Biotech1,3906.9%$31.2B$10.4M
Commerce1,1925.9%$9.9B$2.3M
Energy8484.2%$19.5B$4.7M
Cybersecurity7793.9%$13.2B$5.8M
Education5652.8%$2.2B$1M

Table 1. Startup funding by industry. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026. Base: 20,088.

Previous values

MonthData as ofValue
October 202619 October 202620,101
September 202628 September 202620,149

Table 2. Startup funding by industry, value at each monthly update. Source: FundingWatcher. Data as of 23 October 2026.

Method: Rounds dated October 2025 to September 2026, counted from the startup file of 23 October 2026. The file keeps each company's most recent pre-seed, seed, angel or Series A to J round only, so a company that raised twice in the window counts once. A company in two industries counts in both, so the shares add up to more than 100%. Raised sums the rounds with a disclosed amount. Full method.

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Startups closed 20,088 funding rounds from October 2025 to September 2026. Software startups took 10,108 of them (50.3%), more than any other industry. Source: FundingWatcher, October 2026.
https://fundingwatcher.com/data/startup-funding-by-industry/
<a href="https://fundingwatcher.com/data/startup-funding-by-industry/"><img src="https://fundingwatcher.com/static/figures/startup-funding-by-industry.png" alt="Startups closed 20,088 funding rounds from October 2025 to September 2026. Software startups took 10,108 of them (50.3%), more than any other industry." width="1200" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://fundingwatcher.com/data/startup-funding-by-industry/">FundingWatcher</a>, October 2026</p>

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