8,625 first-time equity financings in the US through Q3 2026, past the full-year 2021 record

A market digest dated Oct. 19, 2026 cited PitchBook and National Venture Capital Association figures showing US first-time equity financings reached 8,625 through the third quarter of 2026, exceeding the full-year record set in 2021. The number should be read for what it is: a count of companies taking a first equity cheque, not total dollars — the entry layer of the market is widening even as most deal value concentrates in very large rounds.

The record says a company's first round increasingly includes institutional money rather than being angels-only territory. For Vietnamese angels the consequences are concrete: (1) when a fund joins the first round, the terms to hold on to in the convertible note or SAFE are pro-rata rights and information rights — lose them and the next round dilutes you with no remedy; (2) keep a follow-on reserve at least equal to the initial cheque, because with more companies raising a first round the gap to the next one stretches; (3) if the next round is likely to come from a Singapore-based fund, complete the holdco move before opening the round — doing it mid-round lengthens due diligence and usually reopens the term sheet.