Startup and Venture Investment News — Wednesday, 17 December 2025: A Record Finish to the Year, New Mega Funds, an AI Round Boom, and Global Venture Trends
By the end of 2025, the global venture capital market was on a trajectory of confident growth, leaving behind several years of decline. Estimates suggest that in the third quarter of 2025, investment in technology startups reached approximately $100 billion—about 40% above the level a year prior, marking the best quarterly performance since the boom of 2021. In the autumn, the upward trend only gained momentum: in November alone, the global deal volume exceeded $40 billion, a 28% increase compared to the previous year. The prolonged “venture winter” of 2022–2023 has definitively given way to a new upturn—private capital is rapidly returning to the tech sector. Record funding rounds and the launch of new mega funds signal a resurgence of risk appetite among investors. Nevertheless, the approach to investments remains cautious and selective: capital is directed primarily towards the most promising and resilient startups.
The vigorous growth of venture activity this year has spanned all regions of the globe. The United States continues to lead confidently (especially due to colossal investments in the artificial intelligence sector). In the Middle East, investment volumes have soared due to increased activity from sovereign funds. In Europe, for the first time in a decade, Germany has overtaken the United Kingdom in terms of total venture capital raised. Growth in Asia is shifting from China to India and Southeast Asian countries, compensating for the relative cooling of the Chinese market. New tech hubs are also emerging in Africa and Latin America—signalling the first “unicorns,” underscoring the truly global nature of the current upturn. The startup scenes in Russia and the CIS countries are also striving to keep pace, despite external constraints. Overall, the global venture market is gaining strength, and the return of “big money” into startups indicates a restoration of trust in the sector.
- The return of mega funds and large investors. Leading venture funds are raising unprecedented amounts and refilling the market with capital, enhancing risk appetite.
- Record rounds in the AI sector and new “unicorns.” Unusually large investments in AI startups elevate company valuations to record heights, spawning a wave of new “unicorns.”
- A revival of the IPO market. Successful technology company listings on stock exchanges and an increase in listing applications confirms that the long-awaited “window of opportunity” for exits has opened again.
- Diversification of sector focus. Venture capital is not only flowing into AI but is also actively financing fintech, climate projects, biotech, defence technologies, and even crypto startups, expanding market 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.
- The return of interest in crypto startups. Following a prolonged “crypto winter,” blockchain projects are once again receiving funding amid a recovering digital asset market and easing regulations.
- A local focus: Russia and the CIS. New funds and initiatives are emerging in the region to develop local startup ecosystems, gradually attracting the attention of investors despite ongoing limitations.
The Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back in the Market
The largest investment players are making a triumphant return to the venture arena, signalling a new wave of risk appetite. After several years of quiet, leading funds have resumed raising record capital and are launching mega funds, demonstrating confidence in market potential. For instance, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is establishing its third Vision Fund, estimated at around $40 billion, focusing on advanced technologies (primarily projects in artificial intelligence and robotics). Other renowned investors are also re-emerging after a hiatus: Tiger Global has announced a new fund amounting to $2.2 billion—significantly smaller than its previous giant funds, but with a more selective approach to investments. Sovereign funds from the Middle East are also becoming active: the governments of oil-producing nations are pouring billions of dollars into innovative programmes, forming powerful regional tech hubs. At the same time, dozens of new venture funds are emerging across the globe, attracting significant institutional capital for investments in high-tech companies. The largest funds in Silicon Valley and Wall Street have accumulated record reserves of uninvested capital (“dry powder”)—hundreds of billions of dollars are ready to be deployed as the market revives. The return of “big money” is already noticeable: the market is becoming more liquid, competition for the best deals is intensifying, and the industry is receiving much-needed confidence for forthcoming capital inflows.
Record Investment in AI: A New Wave of “Unicorns”
The artificial intelligence sector remains the primary driver of the current venture upturn, demonstrating record funding volumes. Investors worldwide are directing colossal resources towards the most promising AI projects, striving to secure their positions among the leaders of a new technological leap. In recent months, several startups have attracted unprecedentedly large funding rounds. For example, Elon Musk's xAI project has secured around $10 billion in total investments, while Jeff Bezos's new startup Project Prometheus has raised over $6 billion right from the start. A notable deal involves SoftBank's investment in OpenAI: approximately $40 billion in funding has raised OpenAI's valuation to an astronomical ~$500 billion, making it the most valuable private startup in history. Such mega rounds confirm the frenzy surrounding AI technologies and elevate company valuations to unprecedented heights, generating dozens of new “unicorns.”
Moreover, funding is being directed not only towards applied AI services but also towards the critical infrastructure for them—from the production of specialised chips and cloud platforms to energy supply systems for data centres. According to industry analysts, global investments in AI startups in 2025 exceeded $200 billion, accounting for almost half of all venture investments for the year (a sharp jump compared to the previous year). Despite some concerns over market overheating, investor appetite for AI startups remains extraordinarily high, as each seeks to claim a stake in the artificial intelligence revolution.
The IPO Market Awakens: The “Window of Opportunity” for Exits is Open
The global primary public offering (IPO) market is emerging from a prolonged lull and is regaining momentum. After nearly two years of stagnation, a surge of IPOs in 2025 has presented a mechanism for venture investors to exit. In the US alone, the number of new technology listings in 2025 grew by more than 60% compared to the previous year. A series of successful debuts by high-tech companies on the stock exchange has confirmed that the “window of opportunity” for exits is indeed open. For instance, the American fintech unicorn Chime rose by around 30% in share price on its first day of trading following its debut, while the design platform Figma also exhibited substantial stock growth in the initial days after listing. Major tech players from Asia are not lagging behind either; a number of companies have successfully listed in Hong Kong, collectively raising billions of dollars, demonstrating investors’ readiness to engage in new listings.
In the second half of 2025, more high-profile IPOs are expected—among the candidates are payment giant Stripe and several other highly valued startups. Even the crypto industry has taken advantage of the new window: the stablecoin issuer Circle successfully carried out a listing, proving that investors are once again willing to buy shares in digital sector companies. A particularly noteworthy event is the anticipated IPO of SpaceX: the company has conducted an internal stock sale based on a valuation of ~$800 billion and has officially announced plans to go public in 2026. If this listing occurs, it could become one of the largest in history, highlighting investors’ faith in large exits. The resurgence of activity in the IPO market is vital for the entire startup ecosystem: successful public exits allow venture funds to realise profits and redirect freed capital into new projects, closing the investment cycle and sustaining further industry growth.
Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI
In 2025, venture investments are covering an increasingly broad array of sectors and are no longer limited to artificial intelligence alone. Following the downturn of recent years, fintech is experiencing a revival: significant funding rounds are taking place not only in the US but also in Europe and on emerging markets, fuelling the growth of new digital financial services. Riding the global trend towards sustainability, interest in climate technologies and “green” energy is also growing—projects in renewable energy, eco-friendly materials, and agri-tech are attracting record investments from both private and institutional investors.
Appetite for biotechnology is also returning. New groundbreaking developments in medicine and the recovery of valuations in the digital health sector are again attracting capital, rekindling interest in biotech. Furthermore, heightened focus on security is driving funding for defence technology projects (DefenceTech)—from modern drones to cybersecurity systems. A partial reinstatement of trust in the cryptocurrency market and the easing of regulations in various countries have also allowed blockchain startups to resume capital attraction. This broadening of sector focus is making the startup ecosystem more resilient and reducing the risk of overheating in certain market segments.
Mergers and Acquisitions: Consolidation of Players
Large-scale mergers and acquisitions, as well as strategic alliances between technology companies, are once again on the agenda. High valuations of startups and fierce competition for markets have led to a new wave of consolidation. Major players are actively scouting for new assets: for instance, Google has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for approximately $32 billion—a record for Israel’s technology sector. This consolidation is reshaping the industry landscape: more established companies are increasing their presence, while young startups are integrating into corporations for accelerated growth. For venture funds, the M&A wave corresponds to much-anticipated profitable exits and a return of invested capital, strengthening investor confidence and stimulating a new investment cycle. Thus, M&A deals are becoming an alternative method of exit and profit realisation aside from IPOs.
The Resurgence of Interest in Crypto Startups: The Market Awakens After the “Crypto Winter”
Following a prolonged decline in interest towards cryptocurrency projects—the “crypto winter”—the situation began to shift noticeably by the end of 2025. The rapid growth of the digital asset market and a more favourable regulatory environment have enabled blockchain startups to once again secure significant venture funding, although volumes are still far from the peaks of 2021. Regulators in many countries have provided greater clarity on the rules of the game (basic laws on stablecoins have been passed, and the first Bitcoin ETFs are expected to emerge), and financial giants are once again turning their attention to the crypto market—all of which has supported the influx of new capital.
Additionally, Bitcoin's price has exceeded the psychologically important threshold of $100,000 for the first time, fueling investor optimism (it is now consolidating around ~$90,000). Blockchain startups that have survived the culling of speculative projects are gradually restoring trust and regaining venture and corporate funding. Interest in crypto startups is returning, although investors are now assessing business models and the resilience of such projects much more stringently.
Russia and the CIS: Local Initiatives Amid Global Trends
Despite external sanctions pressure and limited access to international capital, Russia and neighbouring countries are witnessing a gradual revival of startup activity. In 2025, the Russian venture market is slowly emerging from its slump and starting to show early signs of growth. New venture funds with a total volume of about 10–12 billion ₽ have been launched, aimed at supporting early-stage technology projects. The country has also eased several restrictions for foreign investors, which is gradually rekindling international funds’ interest in local projects. Major corporations and banks are increasingly supporting startups through corporate accelerators and venture divisions, stimulating ecosystem development.
New government measures and private initiatives aim to provide additional momentum to the local startup scene and gradually integrate it into global trends. There are already examples of successful exits: some companies have succeeded in attracting capital from the Middle East or finding a strategic buyer, demonstrating that success is possible even under current conditions. Although investment volumes in the CIS still significantly lag behind global levels, the formation of its own venture infrastructure is creating a foundation for the future—by the time external conditions improve and global investors are able to return to the region in greater numbers. The local ecosystem is learning to operate autonomously, relying on targeted government support and partnerships with investors from friendly countries.
Conclusion: Cautious Optimism on the Threshold of 2026
At the turn of 2025–2026, moderately optimistic sentiments predominate in the venture industry. The rapid growth in startup valuations (especially in the AI segment) somewhat resembles the dot-com bubble era and raises concerns over market overheating. However, investors have learned lessons from the past and are now assessing projects based on stringent quality and sustainability criteria, avoiding unwarranted hype. The focus is on tangible profitability, efficient growth, and technological breakthroughs, rather than the chase for astronomical valuations. The new phase of the venture market is built on a more robust foundation of quality projects, and the industry is looking to the future with cautious optimism, hoping for balanced growth in 2026 (provided there is relative macroeconomic stability). The key question ahead is whether the high expectations surrounding the AI boom will be justified and whether other sectors will be able to match its attractiveness for investors. Meanwhile, appetite for innovation remains strong, and the market greets the future with a measure of cautious optimism.
