It’s an insecure world out there, and investors are responding by scaling up their cybersecurity spending.

For the third quarter of 2026, global cybersecurity- and privacy-focused startups pulled in a total of $6.8 billion, per Crunchbase data. That’s up about 50% from the prior quarter and tied for the highest quarterly tally in years, as charted below.

The funding bump was due to larger rounds, not more of them. Round counts actually declined sequentially across all stages last quarter, Crunchbase data shows.

Biggest cybersecurity fundraisers

AI startups accounted for the overwhelming majority of cybersecurity funding, with a particular focus on identity security. Overall, at least 18 companies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity closed rounds of $100 million or more this past quarter.

Of those, the largest funding recipient by far was enterprise identity security provider  Keyfactor, which picked up $1 billion in a July growth round led by Summit Partners. Founded in 2001, the Ohio company isn’t exactly a startup, but it has attracted the bulk of its venture funding in the past 10 years and its pivot to AI is also of a more recent vintage.

Dallas-based Island tied for second place with a $400 million September Series F led by Evolution Equity Partners. The startup, which offers tools for enterprises to see and govern how people and AI agents interact with applications and data, also secured a post-money valuation of $6.4 billion.

Cyera, operator of an enterprise data security platform focused on AI agents, also announced a fresh $400 million Goldman Sachs Growth Equity-led investment in September, just three months after raising $600 million. The latest infusion set a $12 billion valuation for the New York startup.

For a bigger-picture view of leading fundraisers, below we used Crunchbase data to put together a list of the 10 largest round recipients.

Exits, too

We also saw some good-sized acquisitions of cybersecurity startups this past quarter, even as the IPO market was fairly sluggish.

Visa led the M&A pack with its $2.4 billion purchase of anti-fraud technology provider BioCatch in August. The acquisition is part of a broader effort by Visa to beef up its fraud detection and prevention capabilities for the AI age.

Among private unicorns, meanwhile, Cyera proved it can find a way to spend a good chunk of the capital it raised. It acquired Oasis Security, an enterprise access management platform built for AI agents, in a deal reportedly valued around $1 billion.

As for public offerings, Aura, which offers digital security services to consumers, was the lone sizable venture-backed market debut. The Boston-based startup completed an acquisition of an Australian public company, Qoria, in July, and then renamed the combined company Aura.

Overall, an upbeat quarter

Overall, Crunchbase funding data points to an upbeat environment for cybersecurity startup funding. This doesn’t seem particularly surprising given the steady drumbeat of worrisome news about the risks posed by rapidly advancing AI technology.

It’s not an especially reassuring time for most of us. But for cybersecurity founders, there’s certainly an ever-expanding array of hazards to keep at bay. We’ll keep watching in the current quarter to see if investment momentum continues to build.

Related Crunchbase queries:

• Global Cybersecurity Venture Funding In 2026
• Largest Cybersecurity And Privacy Funding Rounds Of Q3, 2026

Illustration: Dom Guzman