Venture investment into U.S. seed and Series A cell and gene therapy startups has fallen sharply, according to BioCentury reporting, as investors retreat from high‑risk, capital‑intensive platforms. The decline contrasts with continued funding activity in China and select pockets of the market, and it is constraining nascent platform companies’ ability to reach IND‑enabling milestones. The pullback has downstream implications for CDMOs, preclinical service providers and translational ecosystems that depend on a steady pipeline of startup demand. Some investors and founders are responding by stretching existing capital, pursuing non‑dilutive financing, or seeking partnerships with strategic partners and Asian investors. The contraction may slow innovation cycles in the short term, particularly for technologies requiring substantial preclinical investment such as viral vectors and complex cell engineering, while reshaping the geography of early translational activity.