· Venture Capital Tracker · investment-strategies · 1 min read
Seattle's $1.5B Q1 2026: Fewer Deals, Bigger Checks, AI Dominates
Seattle's Q1 2026 saw 69 deals for $1.5B — the lowest deal count since mid-2020, reflecting a national AI-led capital concentration trend.
Seattle-area startups raised roughly $1.5B across 69 deals in Q1 2026 — the region’s lowest deal count since mid-2020, per GeekWire. Capital is concentrating behind a smaller set of AI and space winners. Seattle ranked 7th by capital and 10th by deal count nationwide.
Key Q1 2026 deals
- Stoke Space — $350M.
- Temporal — $300M Series D.
- Starcloud — $170M.
- XBOW — $120M Series C.
- Overland AI — $100M.
Most active Seattle VCs in 2026
- Madrona Venture Group — region’s anchor.
- Founders’ Co-op — seed specialist.
- Pioneer Square Labs (PSL) Ventures — studio + fund.
- Flying Fish Partners — B2B + applied AI.
- Voyager Capital — B2B software / infrastructure.
- Ascend — pre-seed Pacific Northwest.
Practical takeaway (founder + investor)
- Founders: Seattle capital favors engineering-heavy B2B, AI infrastructure, and space.
- Investors: Watch Stoke Space, Starcloud, and Madrona’s AI portfolio for follow-on exits; consumer and fintech are underrepresented locally.
Sources
- GeekWire Seattle Q1 2026: https://www.geekwire.com/2026/bigger-checks-fewer-bets-seattle-startup-deal-count-drops-to-lowest-level-since-2020/
- Puget Sound Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2026/04/14/venture-capital-puget-sound-ascend-pitchbook.html
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