General Catalyst Takes The Lead Over Y Combinator In Backing $5M+ Fintech Deals

For the first time in several quarters, General Catalyst in Q2 overtook Y Combinator when it came to participating in the most fintech deals of $5 million or more, per Crunchbase data. Notably, the quarter also marked the busiest one for General Catalyst since 2021 in terms of investing in rounds of $5 million or above. The firm’s next-busiest fintech investing quarter in rounds of that size was the fourth quarter of 2025, when it participated in 10 raises of $5 million or above. Overall, fintech startups raised $28.6 billion globally in the first half of 2026, a 22.7% increase from the first half of 2025, but down 17.3% compared to the $34.6 billion raised in the second half of last year. (It’s important to note that H2 2025 marked the strongest six-month funding period for fintech startups since the second half of 2022.) Over the past year, startup accelerator Y Combinator has routinely ranked as the most active investor in the fintech space. And overall, it was still the most active investor in the second quarter of this year, participating in 41 deals. But this time, it ranked behind General Catalyst in terms of backing fintech rounds in the $5 million or more category. General Catalyst participated in 12 of those deals, while YC and Index Ventures each invested in 11. In overall fintech dealmaking, General Catalyst still ranked far behind YC’s 41, with 13 deals. Coinbase Ventures participated in 12, Index Ventures in 11, and FJ Labs in 10. Top lead investors at $100M or more For megarounds — those deals of $100 million or more — we once again saw private equity firms topping the list of lead or co-lead investors. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan , Iconiq Capital , GIC , Centerbridge Partners and Prosus topped that list, according to Crunchbase data. The largest rounds in Q2 were raised by a geographically diverse bunch of fintech startups. They include: Expense management startup Ramp was the fintech sector’s largest recipient of capital in the second quarter, raising a massive $750 million Series F round in June co-led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Iconiq Capital and GIC that valued the company at over $50 billion post-money. Ebury , a London-based cross-border payments and foreign-exchange fintech majority-owned by Santander , was a close second — landing $748 million in a private equity financing led by Centerbridge Partners in April. Also in April, Indian consumer lending startup KreditBee raised $220 million in a Series E round co-led by Dragon Fund , Hornbill Capital Advisers and Motilal Oswal Alternates that valued it at more than $1.5 billion. Paris-based insurtech Alan landed a $545 million Series G led by Prosus that valued it at $6.2 billion. Top fintech investors at seed When it comes to investing in seed rounds, unsurprisingly, Y Combinator again topped the list — by far, with 33 fintech deals. Next up was Rebel Fund with seven investments at the seed stage, and then Antler with six. The investor base shifted when we looked at who led or co-led post-seed rounds in the second quarter. General Catalyst topped that list, with five deals. TCV , SMBC Asia Rising Fund , Portage Ventures , Index Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and Accel all tied with three investments each. Related Crunchbase query: Global Financial Services Venture Funding In 2026 Related reading: Fintech Funding Surges 23% In H1 2026 As Investors Concentrate Their Bets On AI And Financial Infrastructure Illustration: Dom Guzman