Global VC funding hit a record-breaking $160 billion in Q3

It’s that time of the month again, where we beat you over the head with statistics demonstrating how red-hot the venture funding markets continue to be. In technical terms, growth decelerated...but the important point is that these already record-breaking total funding figures are *still growing.*

To wit: Global venture funding was ~$50 billion last month, per Crunchbase figures, up slightly from $48 billion last month, and up much more than slightly (~56%) from last September. That brings the Q3 2021 VC funding total to $160 billion, a (very relatively) small uptick from $158 billion in Q2 2021, up 78% YoY.

• Funding grew 95% YoY in Q2, 102% in Q1, and 21% in Q4 2020.

Here are some of the biggest rounds for emerging tech companies in September:

Aulton New Energy, a China-based EV battery-swapping startup, raised a $232 million series B. Aulton has partnered with Chinese automakers to develop 20 car models, spanning passenger and commercial, that can take advantage of its battery-swapping stations.

• It operates in almost 30 cities, and has ~50,000 registered users.

SmartLabs, a Boston–based lab-building startup, netted a $250 million series B. The “laboratory as a service” company helps clients, including biotech startups as well as 100-year old camera-maker Nikon, build and operate cutting-edge R&D labs.

Spiber, a Japan-based biotech company that primarily researches...synthetic spider silk…, raised ~ $220 million private equity round. The company creates synthetic, spider-silk-inspired proteins via a fermentation process, and combines the strands to form what it says is a cozy, soft, stretchy, and climate-friendly fiber that can be used for clothing.