Global Overview of Venture Capital and Startup News as of 19 October 2025: Record Investment Rounds, Surge in AI and Fintech Activity, Revival of IPOs, and Megadeals in the Technology Sector.
By mid-October 2025, the global venture capital industry is demonstrating robust growth following several years of decline. Investors around the world are once again actively funding technology startups — record deals are being struck, plans for companies to go public are back on the table, and major players are returning to the market with significant investments. Governments in various countries are intensifying support for innovation and technology. Consequently, private capital is gradually returning to startup ecosystems, providing them with new impetus for development.
Venture activity is on the rise across all regions. The USA remains a leader (with particularly robust growth in the artificial intelligence segment), while in the Middle East, the volume of venture investments has nearly doubled over the year. For the first time in a decade, Germany has overtaken the UK in Europe in terms of deal volume, and in Latin America, Mexico has surpassed Brazil in capital raised. India, Southeast Asia, and Gulf countries are attracting record investment flows amidst a relative decline in activity in China. Even in Africa, while on a smaller scale, there is increasing interest from global investors in local tech hubs. We are witnessing a global venture boom, although investors continue to act selectively and cautiously.
Below are the key events and trends shaping the venture market agenda as of 19 October 2025:
- The Return of Megafunds and Large Investors. Leading venture funds are attracting unprecedented capital and actively investing in startups, flooding the market with liquidity and rekindling risk appetite.
- Record Investments in AI and a New Wave of Unicorns. Exceptionally large funding rounds are driving valuations of startups to unprecedented heights, particularly in the AI sector, spawning numerous new unicorns in the market.
- Revival of the IPO Market. Successful technology company public offerings and new listing applications indicate that the long-awaited "window" for exits has reopened.
- Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI. Venture capital is flowing into not only AI but also fintech, climate technologies, biotech, and defence projects; interest in crypto startups is gradually returning as well.
- 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 growth of startups.
- Local Focus: Russia and the CIS. New funds and initiatives are being launched in the region to develop local startup ecosystems, drawing investor attention despite external constraints.
The Return of Megafunds: Big Money Back in the Market
The largest investment players are making a triumphant return to the venture arena, signalling a renewed appetite for risk. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has launched a new Vision Fund III of around $40 billion, focused on cutting-edge technologies (including AI and robotics). In the USA, the firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is establishing a megafund of approximately $20 billion in 2025, targeting projects in the field of artificial intelligence — this is the largest fund in the company's history and one of the largest in the industry following SoftBank’s legendary $100 billion Vision Fund.
Overall, the industry is once again filled with "dry powder": the largest funds have accumulated tens of billions of dollars of uninvested capital in recent years. In 2022, around 30 leading venture firms accounted for up to 75% of all raised funds — indicating a trend towards fund consolidation. Sovereign wealth funds from affluent countries and institutional investors are eagerly investing in these megastructures, keen to tap into the explosive growth of AI and other promising sectors. Record levels of available capital imply increased competition for the best deals and the willingness of the venture market to finance ever-larger projects.
Record Investments in AI and a New Wave of Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the primary driver of the current venture boom, showcasing record funding volumes. Investors are eager to secure positions among AI leaders, directing massive funds into the most promising projects. For instance, the startup xAI (founded by Elon Musk) raised around $10 billion, while OpenAI garnered approximately $8 billion at a valuation of about $300 billion — these rounds significantly exceeded initial expectations, highlighting the fervour surrounding AI companies. Notably, funding is being directed not only to applied AI applications but also to the infrastructure solutions geared towards them. Rumours are circulating that a data storage startup for AI is negotiating a multi-billion round at a very high valuation — the market is prepared to invest even in the "shovels and pickaxes" for the new AI ecosystem.
The current investment boom has spawned a wave of new unicorns (private companies valued at over $1 billion), primarily in the domains of generative AI, fintech, and advanced technologies. Although some experts warn of a potential bubble in the private capital market due to rapidly escalating valuations, the appetite of investors for AI startups remains unabated.
The IPO Market Revives: A Window of Opportunity for Exits
The global IPO market is finally emerging from a protracted lull and showing signs of revival. In Asia, a new wave of technology public offerings is led by Hong Kong: in recent weeks, several large companies have listed on the local exchange, collectively raising billions of dollars. For example, Chinese battery manufacturer CATL successfully conducted its IPO, raising about $5 billion — this debut demonstrated investors' renewed willingness to actively participate in initial offerings in the region.
The situation is also improving in the USA and Europe. American fintech unicorn Chime recently debuted on the stock market, with its shares rising approximately 30% on the first day of trading. Following this, the design platform Figma had its long-awaited IPO, raising around $1.2 billion at a valuation of approximately $15–20 billion; its stock prices also rose steadily from day one. In the second half of 2025, several other well-known startups, including payment service Stripe and several technology companies with multi-billion valuations, are preparing to go public.
Even the cryptocurrency industry is trying to take advantage of the improved conditions. Fintech company Circle went public successfully last summer (post-listing, its market capitalisation increased significantly), while cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has filed for a US listing with an intended valuation of around $4 billion. The resurgence of IPO activity is crucial for the venture ecosystem: successful public exits enable funds to lock in profits, return capital to investors, and redirect freed-up resources into new projects.
Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI
Despite the dominance of the AI narrative, venture investments are reaching into an increasingly wide array of industries and are no longer limited to artificial intelligence alone. Following last year's downturn, fintech is gaining momentum again: large rounds are occurring not only in the USA but also in Europe and emerging markets, stimulating growth in new digital financial services. Simultaneously, there has been a sharp increase in interest in climate and "green" technologies: projects related to renewable energy, eco-friendly solutions, and agrotech are attracting record investments on the back of a global trend towards sustainable development. According to analysts, global climate startups raised around $56 billion in the first nine months of 2025 — this is more than the entire amount raised in 2024.
There is a revival of interest in biotechnology. The emergence of several promising developments in pharmaceuticals and medtech is once again attracting capital, as the industry gradually emerges from a period of declining valuations. Additionally, amidst heightened attention to security, investors are more actively financing defence tech startups that are creating solutions for protection and cybersecurity. Even within the cryptocurrency sector, a slight resurgence has been noted: a partial restoration of trust in the market has enabled some blockchain projects to secure funding once more. The expansion of industry focus is making the entire startup ecosystem more resilient and reducing the risk of overheating in specific market segments.
Consolidation and M&A: Megadeals are Reshaping the Industry Landscape
High valuations of startups and intense competition are pushing the industry toward consolidation. Major mergers and acquisitions are once again at the forefront, redistributing power in the market. For instance, Google has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for approximately $32 billion — this record-sized deal showcases tech giants' eagerness to acquire key technologies and talent. Additionally, strategic purchases are on the rise: in the first half of 2025, the volume of startup acquisitions surpassed $100 billion (an increase of 155% compared to the previous year), as major companies are willing to write large cheques for promising assets, particularly in AI and enterprise technologies.
Consolidation is also occurring within the venture sector itself. For example, investment bank Goldman Sachs announced the acquisition of venture firm Industry Ventures for nearly $1 billion, underscoring the growing interconnections between traditional finance and the world of startups. Overall, the activation of M&A activities and a series of megadeals indicate a maturation of the market. Mature startups are merging with each other or becoming acquisition targets for corporations, providing venture investors with much-desired profitable exits and accelerating the scaling of innovations.
Russia and CIS: Local Initiatives Amidst Global Trends
Despite external constraints, there is a revival of startup activity in Russia and neighbouring countries. The launch of several new venture funds, with a total volume of approximately 10–12 billion rubles, has been announced, aimed at supporting early-stage tech projects. Local startups are beginning to attract more serious capital: for instance, the Krasnodar-based foodtech startup Qummy recently secured about 440 million rubles in investments at a valuation of approximately 2.4 billion rubles. Moreover, foreign investors have once again been allowed to fund local projects in Russia, which gradually rekindles the interest of overseas capital in the region.
While the volumes of venture investments in Russia and the CIS remain modest compared to global figures, they are steadily growing. Some large companies are considering the possibility of taking their technology divisions public should market conditions improve — for example, the VK holding has hinted at a potential IPO of its subsidiary VK Tech in the future. New government support measures and corporate initiatives are designed to provide an additional boost to local startup ecosystems and integrate them into broader global trends.
Cautious Optimism and Quality Growth
By October 2025, moderately optimistic sentiments have settled in the venture sector: successful IPOs and significant deals indicate that the downturn period is behind us. However, investors remain selective in their approach to new projects, favouring startups with sustainable business models and realistic growth plans. Substantial capital inflows into AI and other advanced sectors instil confidence; nonetheless, funds are striving to diversify investments and tighten risk controls to ensure that the new upturn does not lead to overheating. The industry is entering a new phase of development with a focus on quality, balanced growth of innovations and capital.
