Series B got bigger

👋 Hey, Egemen here.

Crunchbase counts about $48B in US Series B-stage funding so far in 2026, the highest tally in years. Round counts are on track for a multiyear low. Only 26 of those rounds came in under $10M. In Scaled, Serval raised $150M at a $3B valuation, its third round in 12 months.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the menu today:

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Crunchbase published its 2026 Series B data on 29 October. The sample covers US Series B rounds of $1M or more. It also counts rounds that look like a Series B but were not announced as one.

Investors put about $48B into Series B-stage rounds so far this year. Crunchbase calls it the highest tally in years. Round counts sit below last year and are on track for a multiyear low.

The checks got bigger. Under a third of this year’s deals came in under $30M. From 2021 to 2025, those rounds made up about half of all deals.

Most of the money sits at the top. At least 110 companies raised $100M or more around this stage, about a quarter of all deals. The largest was Prometheus at $12B. It was not announced as a Series B, but Axios and others reported it that way.

AI took most of the money. About two-thirds of Series B dollars went to AI startups in 2026, up from about half in 2025. AI companies also took more than half of all deals.

My read: the small Series B is close to gone. Investors now save the Series B for likely category leaders, and fewer companies get one. Plan as if the $10M Series B will not be there for you.

👉 If a Series B sits on your 18-month plan, ask two Series B leads this month which metrics justify a $30M check. Then size your current round to hit those metrics with six months of runway left. If you cannot reach that bar, build a path to break-even, so a missing round cannot end the company.

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San Francisco / AI for IT and enterprise automation / announced 29 October 2026

Serval has raised a $150M Series C at a $3B valuation. Sequoia led the round. Conviction and Headline joined as new investors, next to Elad Gil, Evantic, First Round, General Catalyst and Redpoint.

Jake Stauch (CEO) and Alex McLeod (CTO) previously led product and engineering at Verkada. Serval sells IT service management built on AI. Its agent, Catalyst, lets teams in IT, HR, finance and legal build their own automations with guardrails and approvals.

This is Serval’s third round in 12 months. Reuters reports that Serval was valued at $1B in December and has raised $277M to date. Serval says its ARR has doubled every quarter since the Series B.

Serval sells against ServiceNow. The company says one automotive manufacturer replaced ServiceNow in 45 days, and Reuters names Lucid Motors. Two Fortune 20 companies signed on in the past six months. Serval plans to hire more than 500 people in the next 12 months.

serval.com / See the $150M announcement