Key US FinTech investment stats in Q1 2026:
- US FinTech investments grew 16% YoY in Q1
- Funding growth was driven by a 4% increase of deals over $100m
- Varo Bank, a US digital banking platform offering current and savings accounts, credit products, early wage access and cash advances, raised $123.9m in a Series G round, making it one of the biggest US FinTech deals of the quarter
US FinTech investments grew 16% YoY in Q1
US FinTech companies raised $11.1bn across 466 deals in Q1 2026, up 16% in funding and 33% in deal volume from Q1 2025.
Against Q4 2025, funding fell 31%, though deal volume was 17% higher.
The Q4 2025 figures were heavily influenced by a concentration of large transactions, and Q1 2026 represents a return to more familiar territory.
Average deal size reflects that shift, dropping from $40.6m in Q4 2025 to $23.8m in Q1 2026, broadly in line with the $27.4m recorded in Q1 2025.
Funding growth was driven by a 4% increase of deals over $100m
Funding from transactions under $100m reached $6bn in Q1 2026, up 29% from Q1 2025 and 36% ahead of Q4 2025.
That consistency across both time periods points to genuine underlying strength at the smaller end of the market.
Larger deals of $100m or more came in at $5.1bn, up 4% from Q1 2025 but down 57% from Q4 2025.
The year-on-year gain offers some reassurance, but the scale of the retreat from Q4 2025 levels makes clear that the blockbuster deals which defined that quarter were an exception rather than a new baseline.
Varo Bank, a US digital banking platform offering current and savings accounts, credit products, early wage access and cash advances, raised $123.9m in a Series G round, making it one of the biggest US FinTech deals of the quarter
The round was led by long-term backer Warburg Pincus and new investor Coliseum Capital Management, with continued support from existing shareholder Northview.
Founded in 2017, Varo has a history of significant fundraising, having previously raised $510m in a Series E round in 2021 at a valuation of $2.5bn.
Alongside the funding, the company has appointed two new board members in Kevin Watters, former divisional CEO at JP Morgan, and Alice Milligan, former chief marketing officer at Morgan Stanley, as incoming CEO Gavin Michael continues to strengthen the leadership team following his appointment in April 2025.
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