Health care companies have already raked in more than $23 billion in venture capital funding this year — more than they collected in all of 2017, according to the latest figures from Pitchbook, which tracks VC investments.

The winners: Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology make up the lion’s share of those investments, with more than $14 billion. That’s more than they’ve collected in any previous year.

The big picture: Health care — biotechnology in particular — is attracting just as much cash as the buzziest sectors of the tech industry.

• The life sciences sector attracted more early-stage VC funding in the third quarter than the burgeoning artificial intelligence industry.
• Two of the four biggest early-stage deals of the quarter were for biotech companies. The other two were for software for autonomous vehicles.