Venture capital investments in cyber startups slid 51% from the previous quarter to $2.1 billion in the third quarter of 2024, according to Crunchbase data released Thursday.

Large rounds of $100 million or more were down considerably in Q3. Crunchbase tracked four large rounds during Q3, compared to Q2 when 10 cyber startups closed rounds of more than $100 million.

The decline in funding accentuates the inconsistent pace of venture capital investments in cyber startups. The second quarter marked the strongest funding quarter for the sector since 2022 at $4.3 billion.

The drop in funding was exacerbated by a continued decrease in the number of deals closed during Q3. The third quarter saw “the lowest amount of deal flow since Q4 2024, with only 115 announced rounds,” a 35% drop from the previous quarter, Crunchbase said in the report.

Venture capital firms invested in 173 deals in Q1 and 153 funding rounds in Q2.

While the pace of dealmaking and total venture dollars flowing to cyber startups hit their lowest point yet this year, Q3 marked an improvement from the year-ago period. The total amount invested jumped 24% on a year-over-year basis.

Kiteworks closed the largest funding round in Q3, raising $456 million and putting its valuation above $1 billion in August. Abnormal Security raised $250 million at a $5.1 billion valuation in August.

The other large deals during Q3 went to Vanta at $150 million and Chainguard at $140 million.

During Q2, Wiz closed the largest funding round to date this year, raising $1 billion at a $12 billion valuation.