U.S. venture capital investment easily hit an all-time record in Q1 2026, according to data released today by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.

• In fact, domestic startups raised more last quarter than in any entire year, save for 2021 and 2025.

Yes, but: U.S. venture capital investment decreased quarter-over-quarter, if you remove just five Q1 2026 transactions.

Why it matters: Traditional VC metrics no longer make much sense, at least if used to gauge the health of America's startup ecosystem.

• The gap between have-lots and everyone else has never been wider, and many of the former are raising tranched rounds that sometimes feel more like project finance than venture capital.
• This includes OpenAI, which only got wired a small portion of its $122 billion windfall last quarter — and may never get all of its money from Amazon — but which got full quarterly attribution as PitchBook tries to maintain methodology in changing times.

The big picture: Logo collection isn't new, but the quantums of capital needed to collect those logos is.

• It's likely to flatten out a lot of performance benchmarks, and cause LPs to become overallocated to a small number of names.
• A big question going forward is if LPs recognize the fund marketing scheme for what it is, and seek out managers who are willing to swing for the IRR fences, or if they prefer to not get fired for buying IBM (which, to be clear, might prove to be the safest and smartest cash-on-cash play).

The bottom line: An industry long defined by underdogs and moonshots is becoming more about front-running.

Sonire Therapeutics, a developer of ultrasound devices for treating pancreatic cancer, raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Santé Ventures, as first reported by Axios Pro.

Why it's the BFD: Pancreatic cancer is a virtual death sentence, with just a 13.3% survival rate over five years.

• Sonire, which was founded in Tokyo and since relocated its headquarters to Silicon Valley, received breakthrough device designation from the FDA and currently is being tested in Japan.
• The funding would be used to complete the Japan trial and launch U.S. trials later this year.

Other investors include Fast Track Initiative, Japan Growth Capital, and SBI Investment.

The bottom line: Sonire's announcement comes just days after Revolution Medicines reported encouraging Phase 3 results for a pancreatic drug medicine whose trial patients included former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse.

• Revolution shares are up more than 48% since the announcement, boosting its market cap past $29 billion.

• Fluidstack, an NYC-based cloud computing startup, is in talks to raise $1b at an $18b valuation led by Jane Street, per Bloomberg. axios.link/41AvDp5

• Flock Safety, an Atlanta-based surveillance tech company that raised $275m at a $7.5b valuation in March 2025, is in talks for a new round, per Axios Pro. axios.link/481e1q2

🚑 Terremoto Biosciences, a South SF-based oncology biotech, raised $108m in Series C funding from RA Capital Management, Deep Track Capital, Osage University Partners, BeOne Medicines and insiders OrbiMed, Third Rock Ventures, Novo Holdings and Cormorant. axios.link/4sBCQ3h

🌎 Hertha Metals, a Conroe, Texas-based producer of low-carbon steel and high-purity iron, is raising $100m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3Q2315P

• nEye, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of optical circuit switches, raised $80m in Series C funding. Sutter Hill Ventures led, joined by CapitalG, M12, and Socratic Partners. axios.link/3OiLFB6

🚀 Turion Space, an Irvine, Calif.-based spacecraft maker, raised $75m in Series B funding. Washington Harbour Partners led, joined by Aurelia Foundry, Forward Deployed VC, and FoundersX. axios.link/4cuVp3e

• Parasail, an SF based deployment network for AI agents, raised $32m in Series A funding. Touring Capital and Kindred Ventures led, joined by Samsung Next, Flume Ventures, and Banyan Ventures. axios.link/47YMLsq

• NanoTech Materials, a Katy, Texas-based developer of thermal insulation and fireproof building coatings, raised $29.4m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. HPI Real Estate & Investments led, joined by Goose Capital and Milliken & Co. axios.link/4cqtIZ4

• Hilbert, a provider of software that connects data across teams, raised a $28 million Series A funding led by a16z, per Axios. axios.link/4sDg6A6

🚑 Spiral Therapeutics, a South SF-based inner ear disorder biotech, raised $27m in Series B funding. Gund Investment led, joined by Advanced Bionics, Ferring Ventures, and Uni-Bio Science Group. axios.link/4dO50nX

• Gizmo, a London-based ed-tech startup, raised $22m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Shine Capital led, joined by Ada Ventures, Seek Investments, GSV, and NFX. axios.link/4msOYCe

• Auctor, a startup helping companies adopt new software, raised $20m in combined seed and Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Sequoia Capital led the Series A, joined by M12, HubSpot Ventures, Workday Ventures, OneStream, YC, and Tercera. axios.link/3O8a4t3

🚑 Onto Health, a Chicago-based fertility and longevity provider, raised $20m in Series A funding from Artis and Humania. axios.link/4cJUEo1

• Phonely, an SF-based provider of voice agents for businesses, raised $16m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Base10 Partners led, joined by YC, Etech Global Services, TSA Group and Engage CX. axios.link/3Oicvcz

• Ratio, an SF-based fintech for B2B scale-ups, raised $15.8m from Streamlined Ventures, Cervin Ventures, HoneyStone Ventures,. Monte Carlo Capital, Jarvis Investments, and Sandhill Angels. axios.link/3OGal6y

🌎 Agriodor, a French developer of crop protection products based on natural plant scents, raised €15m in Series A funding led by the Environmental and Solidarity Revolution Fund. axios.link/4mPpYFH

• Hyfix, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of chips for drones, raised $15m in seed funding. Craft Ventures led, joined by Catapult Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Finality Capital, and Sky Dayton. axios.link/4cqJbsl

• Paxos Labs, a developer of onchain financial products for enterprises, raised $12m led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Robot Ventures, Maelstrom, and Uniswap. axios.link/41ySukU

• Wamo, a Finnish finance operating platform for SMEs, raised €10m in Series A funding led by 3TS Capital Partners, with participation from Oleka Capital. axios.link/4muwfWP

• Gitar, a developer of agents for code review and continuous integration workflows, raised $9m led by Venrock, with participation by Sierra Ventures. axios.link/4e7XkNJ

• Nava, an NYC-based developer of "guardrails" for the agentic economy, raised $8.3m in seed funding. Polychain and Archetype led, joined by FalconX, Hack VC, and Seed Club Ventures. axios.link/4tMNHbG

• TraqCheck, a London-based HR tech startup, raised $8m in Series A funding. IvyCap Ventures led, joined by IIFL. axios.link/3OnCOOk

• BizScout, an Austin-based marketplace and data platform for small biz acquisitions, raised $5m in seed funding from Valor Equity, Balaji Srinivasan, Sean Rad, and Bill Perkins. axios.link/3OjXIy0

• Pumpcade, a Solana-based prediction markets platform, raised $5m in seed funding led by Foundation Capital and Jump Crypto. axios.link/4sUjoPD

🌎 Clean Food Group, a U.K. developer of yeast-derived oils and fats from food waste, raised £4.5m led by Clean Growth Fund and New Agrarian. axios.link/4vA4jVY

• Modern Relay, a developer of shared infrastructure layer for enterprise AI agents, raised $3m from Point Nine, Emerge, Amino Collective, and Common Magic. axios.link/4vvojbW

• Ralio, a U.K. payments platform for AI agents, raised $2.5m. Sure Valley Ventures led, joined by Seed X, Love Ventures, Plug and Play, rule30, Adeline Arts and Science, Endurance Ventures, Campus Fund, Alan Morgan, and Antler. axios.link/41SQPHf

• Cashco, a portfolio company of May River Capital, acquired 3B Controls, a British manufacturer of specialized solutions for storage tanks. axios.link/4cbtrKS

🚑 CPIhealth, an Iron Path Capital portfolio company, acquired both Midwest Interventional Spine Specialists (Chicago) and Serenity Surgical Center (Munster, Ind.). axios.link/3QkHxRx

• Equity Methods, an HGGC portfolio company, acquired Equity Plan Solutions, a Redwood City, Calif.-based boutique advisory. axios.link/4caXG4H

🐔 Kingswood Capital Management invested in Soulshine Farms, a Gainesville, Ga.-based provider of poultry further-processing solutions. axios.link/4tFi6bM

• Horsburgh & Scott, a portfolio company of GenNx360 Capital Partners, acquired Franklin Machine & Gear, a Humble, Texas-based provider of industrial gear and gearbox repair and replacement services. axios.link/4tMkvl4

• Nivora Group acquired Aavrani, a beauty brand that previously raised VC funding from firms like Skara Ventures, Gaingels, and 2c9 Ventures. axios.link/4ce6C9v

• Q4, a Sumeru Equity Partners portfolio company, acquired Virtua Research, a Boston-based financial modeling company. axios.link/4vwgfYv

• Elmet Group, a Portland, Maine-based maker of materials and microwave products for aerospace and defense, set IPO terms to 7.7m shares at $12-$14. It would have a $364m market cap, were it to price in the middle, and reports $5m of net income on $202m in revenue for 2025. Elmet plans to list on the Nasdaq (ELMT). axios.link/4sCoIXE

• NewHold Investment IV, an industrial tech SPAC, raised $175m in its IPO. axios.link/4cpqoxl

• AppDirect, a B2B subscription commerce platform valued by VCs at over $1.7b, acquired PartnerStack, a Canadian PRM software company that raised $40m from firms like RRE Ventures and 3L Capital. axios.link/3QFSxch

• Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) acquired Monarch Tractor, a Livermore, Calif.-based maker of self-driving electric tractors, per Bloomberg. Monarch raised around $250m from firms like Astanor Ventures, CNH Industrial, At One Ventures and Trimble Ventures. axios.link/3Q9RSQm

• EToro (Nasdaq: ETOR) agreed to pay $70m for crypto wallet provider Zengo, an Israeli crypto wallet startup that had raised over $35m from No Limit, Tether, MoonPay, Arieli Group. Elron Ventures, Benson Oak Ventures, Insight Partners, and McArthur Capital. axios.link/3Om3GOU

• Tory Burch plans to spend $346m to repurchase a minority equity stake held in the luxury retailer by General Atlantic, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4vvEPZF

ICYMI: Corporate America has concluded that federal antitrust approval now comes from the top, as evidenced by United pitching a merger with American Airlines directly to Trump. Go deeper.

⚡Adnoc is in advanced talks to buy Shell's (NYSE: SHEL) South Africa gas stations business, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4co8mfb

• Bridge Defense acquired Syntelligent Analytic Solutions, a Luray, Va.-based provider of intelligence solutions for national security customers axios.link/4sxJFCQ

• Quadra Capital of Brazil is in talks to buy around $3b of assets from state-owned Banco de Brasília, per Reuters. axios.link/4vtJJWW

• Standard Life agreed to buy the U.K. insurance arm of Transamerica owner Aegon (Amsterdam: AEG) for £2b. axios.link/3O4inpN

🚑 Suntory (Tokyo: 2587) agreed to buy the OTC pharma unit of Daiichi Sankyo Co. (T: 4568), for around $1.6b. axios.link/4cwHbip

• ZenaTech (Nasdaq: ZENA) acquired NOW Solutions, a Richardson, Texas-based HR and payroll software company. axios.link/4cvocop

• Topspin Consumer Partners raised $328m for its third fund. axios.link/4tcuUXj

• Lawton Camp joined Dechert as a partner in the law firm's asset finance securitization practice. He previously was with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer. axios.link/4sCq1Wy

• Joshua Feltman, head of Wachtell Lipton's restructuring practice, is in talks to join rival law firm Kirkland & Ellis, per the FT. axios.link/4dPRkJ9

• Daniel Mencaroni joined Goodwin Procter as a partner in the law firm's private investment funds group. He previously was with Wilkie Farr. axios.link/41xL3us

• Adriana Schwartz joined Seward & Kissel as a partner in the law firm's investment management group. She previously was with McDermott Will & Schulte. axios.link/4cbmOZ8

• Type One Ventures promoted Nina Mahmoudpour to general counsel. axios.link/3Q7H0T4