Local startups crushed funding records in 2021. Here’s what happened — and what to expect.

It’s official: 2021 set national records for fundraising, investments and exits — and Greater Washington’s startup and venture capital ecosystem helped make it happen.

The D.C. region counted 415 deals in 2021, representing nearly 119% growth from 2020, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report, published each quarter by data firm PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association with support from Insperity.

Those investments totaled $5.7 billion, more than 200% growth year-over-year, per the report released Friday.

These are the latest figures for the previous 12 months. Remember, this quarterly report gives a snapshot of ever-evolving data; it’s not conclusive or all-encompassing.

Here are the 10 biggest raises by D.C.-area companies in 2021:

Some are also the region’s highest-valued startups. But this roster doesn’t even include all of the companies that cracked $100 million or more in a single round. That elite but growing group also counts Gaithersburg’s Sirnaomics with $105 million, D.C.’s Class Technologies with $105 million and Arlington’s Interos with $100 million, all in July, as well as McLean’s ID.me with $100 million in March and the District’s Arcadia with $100 million in September.

Related: PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report findings for Q3, Q2 and Q1 of 2021. And here are all of our funding roundups from 2021: January and February, March and April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.

The funding surge is a trend that continues to play out at the national level, as “mega-deal activity rose sharply in 2021,” totaling $190.8 billion raised in such rounds, the report said. All in, the U.S. counted $329.9 billion in venture capital dollars invested across roughly 17,054 deals — the most so far and roughly double 2020’s record, per the report. That included $88.2 billion invested across 4,591 deals in the fourth quarter alone.

And the money isn’t coming only from the usual suspects. Rather, nontraditional investors got involved in 6,483 deals — responsible for more than $253 billion. And that’s 64% growth in participation year over year.

Of course, the VC firms funneling that dough to startups were also busy. Investors raised $128.3 billion across 730 funds, marking the first time they’ve collectively exceeded $100 billion — and again, crushing 2020’s record of $86.9 billion. Locally, we saw Alexandria’s QED Investors close two funds totaling $1.05 billion in September and McLean’s Blue Delta Capital Partners close a $215 million fund in December, among others.

More money moved to early-stage startups and valuations increased across all stages nationally, according to the report. That helped make 2021 “a banner year” for the venture capital ecosystem overall, said John Gabbert, founder and CEO of PitchBook.

“A fair portion of the new investment records can be attributed to the record levels of capital washing through the system,” Gabbert said in a statement. Going forward, we should expect to see venture investments at “unprecedented rates in the coming year,” he said.

Nearly two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, the country is witnessing more entrepreneurs starting businesses than ever. And that’s creating jobs and fueling the economy, according to NVCA President and CEO Bobby Franklin. “To ensure their future success we need policymakers to think about the long game when it comes to the startup ecosystem," Franklin said in a statement. "These numbers show the massive impact our industry can have on our nation’s economic success.”