Nuclear energy deals are boosting Maryland’s venture totals while Baltimore funding stalls

Baltimore saw another quarter of subdued venture activity, but at least one local investor is not concerned.

Regional companies raised $55.9 million across 21 deals in Q2 2026 — a roughly 26% drop from the prior quarter’s total, according to the latest Venture Monitor Report from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).

Local investor Chris College isn’t too worried. The TCP Venture Capital managing partner pays closer attention to deal volume than to the occasional mega-raise. By that measure, Baltimore is showing some signs of momentum, with the first half of 2026 producing slightly more deals than the same period last year.

“We’re not doing as many AI transactions in Baltimore as the rest of the country,” College told Technical.ly. “But it seems like deal flow is picking up.”

The VC investment total came in well below the region’s recent quarterly average — about $128 million since 2023. As always, PitchBook’s figures are subject to revision as additional deals are reported.

The top two deals of the quarter as reported came from life sciences companies: Secretome Therapeutics with a $30 million deal and Pearl Diagnostics landing $11.1 million. Together, the companies clinched most of the venture total for the region, mirroring a national capital consolidation trend. 

“AI continues to drive much of the market’s momentum,” NCVA CEO Bobby Franklin wrote in the report, “even as investment and fundraising remain concentrated across a relatively small number of companies and funds.”

Nuclear wins again 

The state of Maryland pulled in another strong quarter, however, thanks again to a nuclear energy startup.

Blue Energy raised $380 million to support its work developing small modular reactors. The Chevy Chase-based company, launched in 2023, says it could begin site work on its first project in Texas by 2027.

That deal pushed the state’s overall Q2 venture total to $460 million, a 189% increase over the prior quarter (though slightly less than the recent quarterly average of $482 million).

It’s a bit of deja vu for Maryland. In 2025, the state saw its biggest venture numbers in more than a decade because of Bethesda’s X-Energy, which similarly embraces the faster path to deployment offered by small modular reactors.

Q2 was also notable for X-Energy as the state’s sole exit. In April, the company went public, pricing its shares at $23 a piece.

Having two major nuclear company wins makes sense. Big tech companies are leaning back into nuclear energy as they scramble to find ways to power AI data centers.

College, from TCP Venture Capital, doesn’t consider these massive nuclear deals traditional VC: With a highly specialized investor base and frequent investment from utility companies, it’s a different marketplace.

“When you’re talking about power consumption, data centers, I don’t really think of that as venture capital,” College said. “That’s really infrastructure investing.”

The next biggest raise across the entire state was from Baltimore’s Secretome, to advance its muscular dystrophy treatment. 

Baltimore’s funding gap

Some of Baltimore’s lackluster performance is because it has too few local investors, asserted Luke Cooper, founding general partner at Latimer Ventures. The Baltimore-based fund focuses on supporting Black and other underrepresented founders.

“Until we fix our local limited partner base and encourage homegrown funds that actually sit on boards here,” Cooper told Technical.ly, “we’re just a pit stop for talent.”

venture monitor snapshots

DC venture funding comes in at $962M for the quarter, with four startups taking 70%

Maryland VC drops sharply in Q1 2026, driven more by deal size than startup slowdown

Nearly $950M flowed to DMV companies in Q1 as funding stayed concentrated

Two Baltimore-area venture firms raised capital in Q2: Ecphora Capital and Riptide Ventures. Combined, they secured just over $1 million. 

It’s about the average number of fund raises in the region. While Ecphora primarily invests in Baltimore-area companies, Riptide Ventures takes a broader view. 

Nationwide, investors increasingly choose to invest in sure bets. In the first half of 2026, nearly half of all the money limited partners put into VC funds went to just three firms, according to the report. 

Cooper also serves as a partner at Preface Ventures, where he says the majority of funding stems from outside Maryland. 

“We are literally raising money from outsiders to bet on local founders,” Cooper said, “while our own institutional wealth sits on the sidelines.”