Current Startup and Venture Capital News as of 19 September 2025: Mega-Rounds in AI, New Unicorns, IPO Resurgence, M&A Deals, Renaissance of the Crypto Industry and Growth in Defence and Space Investments.
By mid-September 2025, the global venture capital market is steadily recovering after several years of decline. Investors worldwide are re-engaging in financing technology companies at all stages of development—from early seed rounds to preparing startups for an IPO. In the first half of 2025, startups in North America raised approximately $145 billion, which is about 43% more than the previous year, marking the highest total since 2021. Against the backdrop of improving macroeconomic conditions and a growing interest in innovation, confidence in the venture market is strengthening: deals are larger and encompass a variety of sectors—from artificial intelligence and fintech to biotechnology and defence. At the same time, caution remains: funding is primarily directed towards a limited number of the most promising projects to prevent overheating in specific niches.
The venture capital upturn is evident across all regions. The United States continues to lead, accounting for about two-thirds of global investment volume (especially dominating in AI). In the Middle East, funding for startups has almost doubled in a year due to multi-billion-dollar tech projects from Gulf countries. Europe is undergoing structural shifts; for the first time in a decade, Germany has surpassed the UK in total venture deal volume, although Europe's share of global VC has slightly declined. India and Southeast Asia maintain an investment boom, fuelled by foreign funds, while activity in China remains subdued due to domestic constraints. The startup scenes in Africa and Latin America are also revitalising, attracting increasing amounts of capital and creating new growth points beyond traditional tech hubs. Meanwhile, startups in Russia and the CIS are striving to keep pace with global trends: despite external limitations, new funds and support programmes are emerging in the region.
Below are the key trends and events in the venture market as of 19 September 2025:
- Return of Mega-Funds and Large Investors. Leading venture players are raising record-sized funds and increasing investments, replenishing the market with capital and reigniting risk appetite.
- Record Funding Rounds and a New Wave of Unicorns. Exceptionally large deals are elevating startup valuations to unprecedented heights, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics.
- Revival of the IPO Market. A series of successful public offerings by tech companies signals an opening "window" for exits and a return of liquidity to the venture market.
- Diversification of Sector Focus. Venture capital is being directed not only towards AI but also towards fintech, green technologies, biotech, and other areas, expanding market horizons.
- Wave of Consolidation and M&A Deals. Large mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments are reshaping the industry landscape, creating new opportunities for exits and accelerated growth for companies.
- Renaissance of the Crypto Industry. A rally in the digital asset market has rekindled investor interest in blockchain projects, resulting in new significant funding rounds and even public offerings in the crypto sector.
- Boom in Defence and Space Investments. Geopolitical factors are driving capital inflows into defence-tech and space projects, making these areas a new priority for venture funds.
- Local Initiatives in Russia and the CIS. New funds and legislative measures are being launched in the region to support startups, while local projects are increasingly attracting foreign capital, integrating into global trends.
Return of Mega-Funds: Large Capital Back in the Market
Major investment entities are re-entering the venture arena, signalling a new surge in risk appetite. The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has announced the launch of its third Vision Fund, amounting to approximately $40 billion, focused on advanced technologies (with an emphasis on AI and robotics) after a prolonged hiatus. Sovereign funds from Gulf countries are also becoming more active, injecting oil dollars into technological initiatives and state mega-projects, thereby establishing their own technology hubs in the Middle East. Concurrently, numerous new venture funds are being created worldwide, attracting significant institutional capital for investments in high-tech sectors.
- Veritas Capital Fund IX – $14.4 billion. An American fund focusing on technology and defence industries has closed a new fund at a record amount, demonstrating a high level of trust from major institutional investors.
- Great Hill Partners IX – $7 billion. One of the largest growth funds targeting tech companies has attracted significant capital, substantially exceeding its initial target size upon the closure of the new fund.
Notably, the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is also planning a mega-fund of $20 billion, entirely dedicated to investments in AI companies—if successful, this will become the largest fund in the firm's history. The increased inflow of capital from such "mega-funds" is driving a sharp rise in the volume of uninvested capital (dry powder) in the market. In the American venture sector, funds have accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars, ready to be invested as confidence returns. This intensifies competition for the best startups and sustains high valuations of promising companies. The presence of large institutional funds itself reinforces the belief that capital inflow into the sector will continue.
Mega-Rounds in AI and a New Wave of Unicorns
The field of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies remains the primary driver of the current venture upturn, demonstrating record financing volumes. Investors are eager to establish positions among the leaders of this new technological cycle, directing colossal sums towards the most promising projects. In recent weeks, several record deals have confirmed this trend:
- OpenAI (USA) – $8.3 billion. The AI technology developer secured one of the largest funding rounds in history at a valuation of around $300 billion; in partnership with Microsoft, the company is spinning off a business division and preparing it for an IPO.
- Mistral AI (France) – €1.7 billion. The generative AI startup has garnered record funding for Europe, increasing its valuation to €11.7 billion. The leading investor was the Dutch corporation ASML, highlighting Europe’s ambitions in AI infrastructure.
- PsiQuantum (USA) – $1 billion. The quantum startup attracted the largest investment in its segment at a valuation of approximately $7 billion, reaffirming investors' willingness to fund technologies beyond traditional artificial intelligence.
- Figure AI (USA) – over $1 billion. The humanoid robotics developer raised over $1 billion in a Series C round with a valuation of approximately $39 billion—an unprecedented level for a robotics startup.
Such mega-rounds are creating a generation of new "unicorns" and accelerating the emergence of technological leaders of the future. Despite warnings of potential overheating in the market, investors' appetite for advanced projects remains high. It is noted that funding is directed not only at applied AI products but also at the infrastructure necessary for them—specialised chips, cloud platforms, and data storage solutions required to scale the AI ecosystem.
IPO Market Revives: Exit Window Opens
Following the downturn of 2022–2023, the IPO market is showing signs of life once again. The successful public offerings of several tech companies have demonstrated that investors are once more willing to purchase shares of rapidly growing startups at high valuations. This new wave of stock market debuts is bolstering venture funds' confidence in the possibilities for lucrative exits.
- Chime. The American fintech unicorn (neobank) debuted on Nasdaq in June; its share price soared by 30% on the first day of trading, confirming strong investor demand for promising fintech companies.
- Klarna. The Swedish fintech giant made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming one of the first European "unicorns" to list in the US after a long pause. Shares were sold above the initial range and surged more than 25% in the first hours of trading.
- Via. The American developer of public transport technologies raised approximately $493 million during its IPO on the NYSE, achieving a valuation of around $3.5 billion. This debut illustrated the market's readiness to invest in new segments of transport services.
The success of these listings signifies a return of liquidity to the venture market. Following these early "sparrows," other major startups are preparing for their own IPOs—from the American payment service Stripe (which, according to media reports, has already submitted a confidential IPO filing) to highly valued AI companies such as Databricks. The resumption of IPO activity is critical for the entire ecosystem: successful exits allow venture funds to lock in profits and direct freed-up capital into new projects, fuelling the next growth cycle.
Wave of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
High startup valuations and fierce competition for market share are pushing the industry towards a new wave of consolidation. Major tech corporations are once again willing to spend billions on strategic acquisitions to strengthen their positions and gain access to cutting-edge developments. Several high-profile M&A deals in recent months affirm this trend:
- Google → Wiz — ~$32 billion. Alphabet Corporation acquired the Israeli cloud cybersecurity startup to bolster its data protection and cloud services capabilities.
- SoftBank → Ampere — ~$6.5 billion. The Japanese holding acquired the American server processor developer Ampere Computing, seeking to lead the market for chips used in cloud and enterprise data centres.
The activation of acquisition deals is altering the balance of power in the industry. Mature startups are either merging with each other or becoming targets for corporations. For venture investors, this opens opportunities for long-awaited exits through the sale of portfolio companies to strategic players. Concurrently, consolidation helps eliminate excess competitors from the market and focus resources on the most promising directions.
Diversification: Fintech, Biotech, and Green Projects
In 2025, venture investments are no longer solely concentrated on AI—capital is being actively directed towards other sectors. After last year’s downturn, fintech is regaining momentum: major fintech startups are attracting substantial sums and renewing partnerships with banks. At the same time, interest in climate and environmental projects is increasing—from renewable energy and energy storage to electric vehicles and carbon footprint reduction technologies. Gradually, appetite for biotechnology is also returning: the emergence of new drugs and digital medical services is once again attracting capital as company valuations in the sector recover.
- Kriya Therapeutics – $320 million. The American biotech startup specialised in gene therapy raised $320 million in a Series D round.
- Odyssey Therapeutics – $213 million. The biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for severe diseases secured $213 million in a Series D round.
- Nitricity – $50 million. The California-based eco-tech startup raised $50 million for the development of an innovative zero-emissions fertiliser production technology.
The expansion of sector focus is making the startup ecosystem more resilient, reducing the risk of overheating in specific niches. Investors are deliberately seeking new growth points beyond the hyper-popular AI, fostering the emergence of promising companies across various fields.
Renaissance of the Crypto Industry
The digital asset market is experiencing a new boom in the second half of 2025, reigniting venture capital interest in crypto startups. Bitcoin has surpassed the historical threshold of $120,000, setting a new all-time high, while leading altcoins are also rapidly rising. Just a year ago, the blockchain sector was facing a crisis of trust and stringent regulatory pressures; however, the current rally has drastically shifted investor sentiments.
Major funds that had previously paused investments in crypto projects are returning to the market. Significant funding rounds are being recorded, and some players are even going public. For instance:
- Circle. The fintech company involved in digital currencies successfully conducted its IPO, becoming one of the first large "crypto-friendly" firms on the exchange.
- Gemini. The cryptocurrency exchange raised $50 million from Nasdaq Ventures ahead of its own public offering.
- BlackRock. The investment giant launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to Bitcoin, marking an important signal of institutional recognition of crypto-assets.
All these events indicate that the blockchain industry is once again perceived by investors as a promising area for growth.
Defence Technologies and Space at the Forefront
The geopolitical tensions of the past few years have driven unprecedented growth in investments in the defence and aerospace sectors. Investments in defence-tech startups have surged dramatically: large rounds, such as the ~$2.5 billion raised by the American manufacturer of autonomous systems Anduril, demonstrate the willingness of venture capital to fund security-related projects. Investors (and in some cases, governments) are actively supporting developments in drones, cybersecurity, military AI systems, as well as new space programmes and satellite platforms.
The defence and space sectors are swiftly becoming new priorities for venture funds. In the US, several unicorns in aerospace technologies have emerged, while European defence startups are receiving significant capital inflows amid changing geopolitical landscapes. For example, California-based producer of standardised satellite platforms Apex raised $200 million in a Series D round to accelerate the mass production of spacecraft in response to growing demand. Generally, venture investments in "defence" industries promise not only commercial benefit but also strategic advantages, making them attractive even to relatively conservative investors.
Russia and the CIS: Local Trends Amidst the Global Market
Despite external limitations, the startup scene in Russia and neighbouring countries is developing in parallel with global trends. In 2025, new sources of capital and initiatives to support the tech business have emerged in the region:
- New Funds. A private fund, Nova VC (approximately 10 billion rubles), has commenced operations in Russia, while in Tatarstan an industry-specific venture fund "New Chemical Industry" (~5 billion rubles) has been established to finance regional innovation projects.
- Government Support. Authorities are discussing a separate law on venture investments. Among the stated objectives are stimulating innovation and increasing R&D expenses to 2% of GDP by 2030 (a nearly twofold growth from the current level).
- International Success. Despite sanctions barriers, teams from the CIS continue to attract foreign investments. For instance, the machine learning service Vocal Image, founded by Belarusian nationals and operating in Estonia, raised ~$3.6 million from a French venture fund—proving that promising projects from the region can find support on the global stage.
While the volumes of venture investments in Russia and the CIS still lag behind global leaders, all the necessary elements of an ecosystem are forming: local funds, accelerators, government programmes, and international partnerships. This creates a foundation for the emergence of homegrown "unicorns" and deeper integration of regional startups into the global technological narrative.
