Startup Insights H2 2026 (J.P. Morgan Payments)
Summary
- In YTD 2026, U.S. seed capital invested reached $19B across a projected 4,724E deal count, with a median seed deal size of $3.0M.p.4
- Series A financings in YTD 2026 generated $25B in capital invested, with median pre-money valuations standing at $64M.p.4
- Serial founders represent 52% of the 2026 seed founder cohort, compared to 37% in the 2021 seed cohort.p.6
- Top percentile seed deal sizes expanded rapidly, with 13 deals exceeding $100M in Q1-Q3 2026.p.7
- AI software represents 29% of startups acquired at the seed stage between 2024 and YTD 2026.p.19
- Seed-stage acquisitions accounted for 25% of total venture-backed M&A transactions in YTD 2026.p.19
Key insights
- Early-stage seed founders in 2026 possess significantly higher technology and startup experience than the 2021 cohort.p.6
- The largest quartile of seed deals achieved a median pre-money valuation of $36M in Q1-Q3 2026.p.7
- Top-percentile startups raising Series A rounds take less time and fewer venture rounds to complete their funding.p.8
- Hardware-intensive sectors such as robotics and advanced manufacturing require higher capital per round from earlier stages.p.11
- Seed round size distributions show AI-enabled startups shifting toward larger round sizes between $5 million and $15 million.p.15
- California and New York remain the primary U.S. seed hubs, attracting 44.7% and 13.2% of seed capital respectively.p.16
- Seed-stage acquisitions continue to expand as a share of overall venture exits, reaching 25% of acquisition count in YTD 2026.p.19
Topics and entities
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