Current Startup and Venture Capital News as of 22 September 2025: Mega Rounds in AI, New Funds, IPO Launches, and Technology Market Growth. Insights for Venture Investors and Funds.
By the end of September 2025, the global venture capital market is confidently recovering after several years of decline. Investors worldwide have renewed their funding for technology companies at all stages—from early seed rounds to preparing startups for IPOs. In the first six months of 2025, the volume of venture investments reached its highest level since 2021: for instance, in North America, startups raised approximately $145 billion, which is about 43% more than the previous year. Against the backdrop of an improving macroeconomic situation and increasing interest in innovation, trust in the venture market is strengthening: deals are getting larger and span a wide range of sectors—from artificial intelligence and fintech to biotechnology and defence. At the same time, caution remains: funding is primarily directed towards the most promising projects to avoid overheating in specific niches.
The venture boom is being witnessed across all regions. The US continues to lead, accounting for about two-thirds of the global investment volume (particularly dominating in the AI sector). In the Middle East, funding volumes for startups have nearly doubled over the past year, thanks to multibillion-dollar tech projects in Gulf countries. Structural shifts are occurring in Europe: for the first time in a decade, Germany has surpassed the UK in total venture deal volume, although Europe’s overall share of global VC has slightly decreased. India and Southeast Asia maintain an investment boom, fuelled by foreign funds, while activity in China remains subdued due to domestic restrictions. The startup ecosystems in Africa and Latin America are also coming to life, attracting increasing capital and forming new growth points beyond traditional tech hubs. Additionally, startups in Russia and CIS countries are striving to keep pace with global trends—new funds and innovation support programmes are emerging in the region despite external limitations.
Below are the key trends and events in the venture market as of 22 September 2025:
- The Return of Mega Funds and Major Investors. Leading venture players are raising record-sized funds and increasing investments, refilling the market with capital and rekindling the appetite for risk.
- Record Funding Rounds and a New Wave of Unicorns. Exceptionally large deals are elevating startup valuations to unprecedented heights, especially in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics.
- Revival of the IPO Market. A series of successful public listings of tech companies signals the opening of an "exit window" and the return of liquidity to the venture market.
- Diversification of Sector Focus. Venture capital is flowing not only into AI but also into fintech, green technologies, biotech, climate projects, and other fields, broadening the market's horizons.
- A Wave of Consolidation and M&A Deals. Major mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments are reshaping the industry landscape, creating new opportunities for exits and accelerated company growth.
- Renaissance of the Crypto Industry. The rally in the digital assets market has returned investor interest in blockchain projects, resulting in new large funding rounds and even the first public offerings in the crypto sector.
- A Boom in Defence and Space Investments. Geopolitical factors are driving capital into defence-tech and aerospace projects, making these sectors a new priority for venture funds.
- Local Initiatives in Russia and the CIS. New funds and support measures for startups are being launched in the region, and local projects are attracting foreign capital while gradually integrating into global trends.
The Return of Mega Funds: Large Capital Back in the Market
The largest investment structures are re-entering the venture arena, signalling a growing appetite for risk. Following a pause, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has announced the launch of its third Vision Fund with a size of around $40 billion, targeting cutting-edge technology sectors (primarily artificial intelligence and robotics). Sovereign funds from Gulf countries have also become more active: they are pouring oil dollars into tech initiatives and state mega-projects, transforming the Middle East into one of the new centres of technological development. Concurrently, numerous new venture funds are being established worldwide, attracting significant institutional capital for investments in high-tech sectors.
- Veritas Capital Fund IX – $14.4 billion. An American fund focused on technology and defence has closed a new fund at a record high, demonstrating a high level of trust from major institutional investors.
- Great Hill Partners IX – $7 billion. One of the largest growth funds, focusing on technology companies, attracted significant funds and substantially exceeded its initial target size when closing its new fund.
Notably, the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is also aiming to create a mega fund of around $20 billion, fully dedicated to investments in AI companies—if successful, this will become the largest fund in the firm's history. The intensified capital influx from such "mega funds" has led to a sharp rise in the volume of uninvested funds ("dry powder") in the market. In the American venture sector, funds have already accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars ready to be deployed as confidence returns. This increases competition for the best startups and supports high valuations of promising companies. The presence of large institutional investors further strengthens market confidence in the continued long-term influx of capital into the industry.
Mega Rounds in AI: A New Wave of Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the main driver of the venture market in 2025, demonstrating record funding volumes. Investors are eager to position themselves among the leaders of a new technology cycle, directing colossal sums into the most promising projects. In recent weeks, several unprecedented deals have confirmed this trend:
- OpenAI (USA) – $8.3 billion. The AI technology company attracted one of the largest rounds in history with a valuation of approximately $300 billion. Together with Microsoft, the company is setting up a separate business unit for a future IPO.
- Mistral AI (France) – €1.7 billion. The generative AI startup received record funding for Europe, raising its valuation to €11.7 billion. The leading investor was the Dutch corporation ASML, highlighting Europe’s ambitions in the AI infrastructure space.
- PsiQuantum (USA) – $1 billion. The quantum startup secured the largest investment in its segment with a valuation of around $7 billion, confirming investors’ readiness to finance technologies beyond classical artificial intelligence.
- Figure AI (USA) – over $1 billion. The humanoid robotics developer attracted more than $1 billion in a Series C round at a valuation of approximately $39 billion, marking an unprecedented level for a robotics startup.
Such mega rounds are shaping a new generation of "unicorns" and accelerating the emergence of future technological leaders. Despite warnings of potential market overheating, investor appetite for advanced projects remains high. Notably, not just applied AI is being financed, but also the infrastructure for it—specialised chips, cloud platforms, and data storage systems, which are necessary for scaling the AI ecosystem.
The IPO Market Comes Alive: The Exit Window is Open
Following a downturn in 2022-2023, the IPO market is once again showing signs of life. Successful public listings of several high-tech companies have demonstrated that investors are ready to purchase shares of rapidly growing startups at high valuations. This new wave of IPOs is bolstering the confidence of venture funds in the prospects for profitable exits.
- Chime. The American fintech unicorn (neobank) went public on Nasdaq in June; its stock price soared by 30% on its first day of trading, confirming strong demand from investors for promising fintech companies.
- Klarna. The Swedish fintech giant debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming one of the first European "unicorns" to list in the US after a prolonged hiatus. Shares were sold above the initial range, and in the first hours of trading, they increased by more than 25%.
- Via. The American transport technology developer raised approximately $493 million in its IPO on the NYSE, giving the company a valuation of around $3.5 billion. This debut demonstrated the market's readiness to invest in new segments of transport services.
The success of these listings signals a return of liquidity to the venture market. Following these initial "harbingers," other major startups are preparing for IPOs—from the American payment service Stripe (reportedly already having submitted a confidential application) to high-valued AI companies like Databricks. The resurgence of IPO activity is critically important for the entire ecosystem: successful exits enable venture funds to realise profits and reinvest freed-up capital in new projects, fuelling the next cycle of growth.
A Wave of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
High valuations of startups and fierce competition for market share are pushing the industry towards a new wave of consolidation. Major tech corporations are again ready to spend billions on strategic acquisitions to strengthen their positions and gain access to cutting-edge developments. Several high-profile deals in recent months underscore this trend:
- Google → Wiz — ~$32 billion. Alphabet Corporation acquired the Israeli cloud cybersecurity startup to strengthen its positions in data protection and cloud services.
- SoftBank → Ampere — ~$6.5 billion. The Japanese holding company purchased the American server processor developer Ampere Computing, aiming to become a leader in the chip segment for cloud and enterprise data centres.
The acceleration of acquisitions is changing the power dynamics within the industry. Mature startups are either merging with one another or becoming targets for corporations. For venture investors, this presents opportunities for long-awaited exits through the sale of portfolio companies to strategic players. At the same time, consolidation allows for the removal of excess competitors from the market and the refocusing of resources on the most promising areas.
Diversification: Fintech, Biotech, and Green Projects
Venture investments in 2025 are no longer exclusively concentrated on AI—capital is actively flowing into other sectors. Following last year's downturn, fintech is regaining momentum: large fintech startups are attracting significant sums and renewing partnerships with banks. Concurrently, interest in ecological and climate projects is on the rise—from renewable energy and energy storage systems to electric vehicles and technologies for reducing carbon footprints. Investor appetite for biotechnology is gradually returning as new drugs and digital medical services are once again attracting capital, with valuations in this sector recovering.
- Kriya Therapeutics – $320 million. An American biotech startup specialising in gene therapy secured $320 million in its Series D funding round.
- Odyssey Therapeutics – $213 million. The biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for serious diseases raised $213 million in its Series D round.
- Nitricity – $50 million. A California-based ecological startup secured $50 million for the development of an innovative zero-emission fertiliser production technology.
The expansion of sector focus is making the startup ecosystem more resilient, reducing the risk of overheating in individual niches. Investors are actively seeking new growth points beyond the incredibly popular AI, contributing to the emergence of promising companies across various fields.
The Renaissance of the Crypto Industry
The digital asset market is experiencing a new upswing in the second half of 2025, renewing venture capital interest in crypto startups. Bitcoin has already surpassed the historical threshold of $120,000, setting an all-time high, and leading altcoins are also rising rapidly. Just a year ago, the blockchain sector was facing a crisis of trust and intense regulatory pressure; however, the current rally has dramatically changed investor sentiment.
Major funds that previously paused investments in crypto projects are re-entering this market. Significant funding rounds are being realised, and some players are even going public. For example:
- Circle. The fintech company in the digital currency space successfully conducted an IPO, becoming one of the first major "crypto-friendly" companies to list on the stock exchange.
- Gemini. The cryptocurrency exchange attracted $50 million from Nasdaq Ventures ahead of its own public listing.
- BlackRock. The investment giant launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) linked to Bitcoin, which is an important signal of institutional recognition of crypto assets.
All these events indicate that the blockchain industry is once again being perceived by investors as a promising area for growth.
Defence Technologies and Space in the Spotlight
The geopolitical tensions of recent years have led to unprecedented growth in investments in the defence and aerospace sectors. Investments in defence-tech startups have risen significantly: large rounds—such as the approximately $2.5 billion raised by American autonomous systems developer Anduril—demonstrate the readiness of venture capital to fund projects in the security field. Investors (and sometimes government bodies) are actively supporting the development of drones, cybersecurity, military AI systems, as well as new space programmes and satellite platforms.
Defence and space sectors are rapidly becoming a new priority for venture funds. Several "unicorns" have emerged in the US aerospace technology sector, and European defence startups have received substantial infusions of capital amid changing geopolitics. For instance:
- Apex – $200 million. The California-based manufacturer of standardised satellite platforms raised $200 million in its Series D round to accelerate the mass production of spacecraft to meet growing demand.
In general, investments in these strategic sectors promise not only commercial benefits but also strategic advantages—making them attractive even to relatively conservative investors.
Russia and CIS: Local Trends Amid Global Market Developments
Despite external limitations, the startup scene in Russia and neighbouring countries is developing parallel to global trends. In 2025, new sources of capital and initiatives to support the technology business emerged in the region:
- New Funds. A private fund, Nova VC (approximately 10 billion rubles), has commenced operations in Russia, and a sector-focused venture fund, "New Chemical Industry" (~5 billion rubles), has been established in Tatarstan to finance regional innovation projects.
- State Support. Authorities are discussing a separate law on venture investments. Among the stated goals is to stimulate innovation and increase R&D spending to 2% of GDP by 2030 (nearly double the current level).
- International Success. Despite sanctions barriers, teams from the CIS continue to attract foreign funding. For example, the machine learning service Vocal Image, founded by Belarusians and operating in Estonia, raised approximately $3.6 million from a French venture fund—proving that promising projects from the region can secure support on the global stage.
Although the volume of venture investments in Russia and CIS countries still lags behind global leaders, all the necessary elements of the ecosystem are being formed: local funds, accelerators, government programmes, and international partnerships. This creates a foundation for the emergence of homegrown "unicorns" and a deeper integration of regional startups into the global technology agenda.
