Crunchbase tallies about $42B flowing into just over 1,500 startups globally during August. That is down 25% from July’s $56B but up 122% compared with August 2025, which is typically a slower month for startup investment.
August produced seven nine-figure-plus rounds measured in billions, matching the year’s second-best monthly total behind July’s 13. Databricks took the biggest check, $5B at a $190B valuation. Beyond Databricks, the billion-dollar club drew from defense, aerospace, energy and software: Hadrian, River AI, satellite builder Yuanxin Satellite, nuclear developer Valar Atomics, coding automation house Poolside and home battery firm Base Power.
August also delivered blockbuster exits. Humanoid robotics maker Unitree went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange at around a $9B valuation and soared 460% on day one. Dealmaking was busy too: Nvidia unveiled its $12.9B plan to buy open-source AI platform Hugging Face, while Milan’s Bending Spoons agreed to acquire database firm Airtable for roughly $1.3B.
Venture capital keeps piling into a narrow set of fast-growing firms: Databricks added $56B to its valuation in just six months, and several August recipients raised at accelerating intervals, a sign that mega-rounds are coming faster than in prior cycles.
For founders, the takeaway is mixed: capital is abundant at the top of the funnel for later-stage winners, while the overall deal count shows investors remain selective about which startups get funded at all.
