New York Startups Raised $3.14B in September, Up 274% From August

New York startups raised $3.14B across 59 rounds in September 2026, up 274% from August and 49% above September 2025, according to AlleyWatch's NYC funding index. Ten rounds of $100M or more accounted for $2.17B — 69% of the month's capital — with Cyera's $400M Series G leading the list.

The rebound came from the top of the market, not from breadth. Deal count recovered from August's 34 rounds but remains 38% below the 95 rounds recorded a year ago. That pushed the average round to $53.2M, more than double last September's figure and well above the US average of $38.2M.

Who wrote the biggest checks?

Cyera, an AI-native data security platform, took $400M from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity — the largest round of the month. EliseAI followed at $350M, backed by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Bessemer Venture Partners and Andreessen Horowitz.

Compare that to August, when just one round crossed $100M: Cityblock Health's $116M. September produced ten.

Health was the deepest vein in late-stage. Precision Neuroscience ($250M Series D, from ARK Investment Management, Korea Investment Partners and Ackman Oxman Institute), Rightway ($155M Series E), Forus ($150M Series C) and Inspiren ($70M Series C) together raised $625M.

The rest of the top ten:

• David (Medici Brands' food and beverage play): $250M Series B from Valor Equity Partners, Imaginary Ventures, ICONIQ Capital
• General Intuition, an AI research lab teaching machines to learn through play: $220M Series B
• Profound, AI visibility for brands: $180M from Lightspeed, Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins
• Clay, AI go-to-market platform: $115M
• Savvy Wealth, digital wealth management: $100M

What does this change for founders and investors?

For Series B founders, the message is blunt: New York captured 23.2% of all US Series B capital in September. Series B dollars hit $771.0M across 9 rounds, up from $100.0M across 3 in August — nearly an eightfold jump.

Series A activity also widened. Rounds jumped from 5 to 13, and capital grew from $51.6M to $310.1M, roughly six times August's total. Ande led the stage with $52M in combined seed and Series A funding; HIFI raised $37M for stablecoin banking infrastructure, and Highstock took $30M from Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock.

Early-stage told a different story. It was the most numerous stage at 26 rounds but averaged just $7.2M, totaling $187.1M — down from August's $92.3M across 15 rounds only in per-round terms of breadth. Fin.com and Polyphron each raised $20M.

Repeat backers集中 at the top

Andreessen Horowitz invested in four September rounds: EliseAI, Clay, Highstock and Adaptive Real Estate. Thrive Capital and Khosla Ventures each backed three of the ten largest rounds.

Late-stage took 59.6% of September's capital at $1.87B across 11 rounds — more than three times August's $597.7M. The average late-stage round ran $169.8M.

New York vs. the nation

US venture capital fell 5.8% from September 2025, while New York gained 49%. That lifted NYC to 10.8% of US capital, up from 4.8% in August. Nationally, $29.10B went across 762 rounds; New York took 59 of them, or 7.7% by count.

September ranked as the third-largest month of the trailing twelve, behind June's $3.90B and March's $3.70B. The twelve-month picture remains lumpy: August 2026 bottomed at $837.9M before this snapback.

October is already running hotter. Through October 22, AlleyWatch's index shows roughly $3.78B across 41 rounds, led by Ramp's $1.9B and Modal's $750M — putting the month on pace to finish well above September, though those figures are preliminary.

AlleyWatch's methodology covers venture rounds raised by New York companies, excludes corporate rounds, private equity and debt, and groups Pre-Seed through Accelerator as Early-Stage.