Startup and Venture Capital News for Tuesday, 23 December 2025. Major AI Rounds, IPO Comeback, Venture Fund Activity, and Key Global Market Trends.
By the end of 2025, the global venture capital market is confidently on a growth trajectory, overcoming the aftermath of recent downturns. Investors worldwide are once again actively financing technology startups: deals worth hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars are being concluded, and IPO plans for promising companies are back in the spotlight. Major venture funds and corporations are resuming large-scale investment programmes, while governments across various countries are enhancing support for innovative businesses. The influx of private capital is providing young companies with sufficient liquidity for growth and scaling, signalling the end of the prolonged "venture winter."
Venture activity is now encompassing all regions of the world. The United States continues to lead primarily due to colossal investments in the AI sector. In the Middle East, the volume of investments in startups has increased significantly thanks to generous funding from state-owned funds. In Europe, a shift in power dynamics is occurring: Germany has surpassed the UK in total venture deal volume for the first time in a decade, strengthening the positions of continental hubs. In Asia, growth is shifting from China to India and Southeast Asia — these markets are attracting record capital, while the Chinese market has cooled somewhat amid regulatory risks. Africa and Latin America are actively developing their tech ecosystems: the first unicorn companies have emerged in these regions, highlighting the genuinely global nature of the current venture boom. The startup scenes in Russia and the CIS are also striving to keep pace, despite external constraints. A new global venture boom is forming: private capital has returned to the market, although investors are still approaching deals with caution and prudence.
- The return of megafunds and major investors. Leading venture players are raising record funds and once again flooding the market with capital, warming up the appetite for risk.
- Record rounds in AI and new unicorns. Unprecedented investments in artificial intelligence are soaring to unseen heights, creating a wave of new unicorn companies.
- Revitalisation of the IPO market. Successful public placements of technology companies and an increase in listing applications indicate that the long-awaited "window of opportunity" for exits has reopened.
- Diversification of investments: not just AI. Venture capital is being directed not only to AI but also to fintech, climate projects, biotech, defence technologies, and other sectors, expanding market horizons.
- A wave of consolidation and M&A deals. Major mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances are reshaping the industry landscape, creating new opportunities for exits and accelerated company growth.
- A revival of interest in crypto startups. Following a prolonged "crypto winter", blockchain projects are once again attracting significant funding amidst a rising market for digital assets and easing regulation.
- Global expansion of venture capital. The investment boom is reaching new regions — from the Gulf states and South Asia to Africa and Latin America — forming local tech hubs around the world.
- Local focus: Russia and the CIS. New funds and initiatives aimed at developing local startup ecosystems are being launched in the region, gradually increasing interest from investors in local projects.
The Return of Megafunds: Big Money Back in the Market
The largest investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture arena, marking a new surge in appetite for risk. After several years of dormancy, leading funds have resumed raising record capital and are launching mega pools, demonstrating confidence in the market's potential. For instance, Japan's SoftBank is forming its third Vision Fund, with a size of around $40 billion, focused on advanced technologies (primarily AI and robotics projects). Investment firms that previously took a pause are also emerging from wait mode: Tiger Global has announced a new fund of $2.2 billion — smaller than its previous giant pools but with a more selective strategy. One of the oldest players in Silicon Valley, Lightspeed Venture Partners, recently announced it raised a record $9 billion for new funds to invest in large-scale projects, primarily in AI.
Sovereign funds in the Middle East are also becoming more active: governments in oil-producing countries are pouring billions into innovative programmes, building powerful regional tech hubs. Additionally, dozens of new venture funds are emerging worldwide, attracting significant institutional capital for investments in high-tech companies. The largest funds on Silicon Valley and Wall Street have accumulated unprecedented reserves of uninvested capital ("dry powder"): hundreds of billions of dollars are ready to be deployed as the market revives. The influx of this "big money" is already palpable: the ecosystem is filling with liquidity, competition for the best deals is intensifying, and the industry is receiving the vital boost of confidence it needs. Notably, governments are also participating: for example, the German government has launched the Deutschlandfonds, totalling €30 billion, to attract private capital for technology projects and economic modernisation, emphasising the authorities' intent to support the venture market.
Record Investments in AI: A New Wave of Unicorns
The AI sector remains the principal engine of the current venture boom, demonstrating record funding levels. Investors worldwide are eager to stake their claims in the AI market, directing colossal funds into the most promising projects. In recent months, several AI companies have attracted unprecedentedly large rounds of funding: for instance, language model developer Anthropic secured around $13 billion, Elon Musk's xAI attracted about $10 billion, and a lesser-known AI infrastructure startup raised over $2 billion, boosting its valuation to approximately $30 billion. OpenAI has been particularly in the spotlight: a series of mega-deals throughout the year has catapulted this company's valuation to an astronomical ~$500 billion, making OpenAI the most valuable private startup in history. Japanese SoftBank led one of OpenAI's funding rounds with a size of ~$40 billion (valuing the company at around $300 billion), and it has been reported that Amazon is now prepared to invest up to $10 billion. Currently, SoftBank is working to close its part of the deal (~$22.5 billion) by the end of the year — a move that will further cement OpenAI's position atop the market and underscore SoftBank’s role as a key player in the AI industry.
Such enormous deals confirm the excitement surrounding AI technologies and elevate company valuations to unseen heights, spawning dozens of new unicorns. Notably, venture investments are being directed not only to applied AI services but also to critically important infrastructure for them. "Smart money" is manifesting even in the so-called "picks and shovels" of the digital gold rush — from the production of specialised chips and cloud platforms to tools for optimising data centre energy consumption. All of this indicates that the race for leadership in AI is being fought on all fronts, and access to capital and technology is becoming a decisive factor for success.
Revitalisation of the IPO Market: The Window for Exits is Open
After a prolonged hiatus, the primary public offering (IPO) market is reviving. In 2025, the number of technology IPOs in the US increased by more than 60% compared to the previous year. In recent weeks, several major companies have successfully debuted on the stock market, convincingly demonstrating that the "window of opportunity" for venture investors has indeed reopened. Hong Kong saw a series of high-profile listings; several technology companies collectively raised billions of dollars during their IPOs. For example, the Chinese battery manufacturer CATL attracted around $5 billion through its IPO, showcasing that investors in the region are once again willing to actively participate in public deals.
In the US and Europe, the situation has also noticeably improved. A number of highly valued startups have successfully conducted IPOs, reaffirming the revival of appetite for new issuers. For instance, fintech unicorn Chime saw its shares rise by approximately 30% on its first day of trading post-IPO, while the design platform Figma raised around ~$1.2 billion during its listing (with a capitalisation of about $15–20 billion) and its stock price has continued to appreciate in the initial trading days. The successes of such companies restore faith in the possibility of profitable exits and encourage other unicorns to consider entering the market.
New high-profile exits are on the horizon. Among the expected IPOs, payment giant Stripe and several other major startups are looking to take advantage of the favourable climate. Special attention is focused on SpaceX: Elon Musk's space company has officially confirmed plans for a large-scale IPO in 2026, hoping to attract over $25 billion — potentially one of the largest offerings in history. Even the crypto industry is not left out: the stablecoin issuer Circle successfully went public in summer (after which its shares noticeably increased), and the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has filed for a listing in the US, targeting a valuation of about $4 billion. The revival of IPO market activity is crucial for the entire startup ecosystem: successful public exits enable funds to realise profits and reinvest the freed capital into new projects, completing the cycle of venture financing and supporting the industry's continuous growth.
Diversification of Investments: Beyond AI
In 2025, venture investments are covering an increasingly broader array of sectors and are no longer confined solely to artificial intelligence. Following the downturn of previous years, fintech is witnessing a revival: substantial funding rounds are taking place in the US and Europe, as well as in emerging markets, stimulating the emergence of new digital financial services. Simultaneously, there is heightened interest in climate technologies and green energy — projects in renewable energy, eco-friendly materials, and agri-tech are attracting record investments amid a global sustainability trend.
Appetite for biotechnology is also reviving. The emergence of breakthrough developments in medicine and the recovery of valuations in the digital health sector are once again attracting capital, renewing interest in biotech. Furthermore, increased attention to security is prompting funding for defence tech projects — ranging from modern drones to cybersecurity systems. The partial stabilisation of the digital asset market and the easing of regulations in several countries have also allowed blockchain startups to once again begin attracting capital. This expansion of sectoral focus is enhancing the resilience of the entire startup ecosystem and reducing the risk of overheating in specific segments of the economy.
Mergers and Acquisitions: A New Wave of Consolidation
Large mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals, as well as strategic alliances between technology companies, are stepping into the spotlight. High valuations of startups and fierce competition for markets have led to a new wave of consolidation. Major players are actively scouting for promising assets: for instance, Google has agreed to acquire the Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for approximately $32 billion — a record sum for the technology sector in Israel. Reports have also surfaced regarding other IT giants poised for significant acquisitions: for example, Intel is rumoured to be negotiating the purchase of AI chip developer SambaNova for around $1.6 billion (a valuation that was $5 billion back in 2021).
This new wave of acquisitions demonstrates major companies' eagerness to secure key technologies and talented teams. Overall, the rise in M&A activity signals much-anticipated opportunities for venture investors to achieve profitable exits. In 2025, there has been marked revitalisation in merger and acquisition deals across various segments: more mature startups are merging with each other or becoming targets for corporations, reshaping the power dynamics in markets. Such moves assist companies in accelerating development by combining resources and audiences, while investors benefit from enhanced return on investment through successful exits. Thus, M&A deals are once again becoming an important exit mechanism alongside IPOs.
The Revival of Interest in Crypto Startups: The Market is Thawing
After an extended "crypto winter," the blockchain startup segment is beginning to revive. The gradual stabilisation and growth of the digital asset market (with Bitcoin surpassing the historical threshold of $100,000 for the first time this year and now consolidating around $90,000) has rekindled investors' interest in crypto projects. An additional impetus has been provided by a relative relaxation of regulations: in several countries, authorities have softened their approach to the crypto industry, establishing clearer "rules of the game." As a result, in the second half of 2025, several blockchain companies and crypto fintech startups successfully secured substantial funding — a signal that, following several years of dormancy, investors once again see prospects in this sector.
The return of crypto investments is expanding the overall landscape of technological financing, adding back a segment that had long remained in the shadows. Now, alongside AI, fintech, or biotech, venture capital is once again actively exploring the realm of crypto technologies. This trend opens up new opportunities for innovation and profit beyond mainstream directions, complementing the overall picture of global technological development.
Global Expansion of Venture Capital: The Boom is Reaching New Regions
The geography of venture investments is rapidly expanding. Beyond traditional tech hubs (the US, Europe, and China), the investment boom is reaching new markets worldwide. Gulf countries (particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE) are investing billions into creating local tech parks and startup ecosystems in the Middle East. India and Southeast Asia are experiencing a vibrant startup scene, attracting record levels of venture capital and producing new unicorns. In Africa and Latin America, rapidly growing technology firms are emerging — for the first time, some are reaching valuations exceeding $1 billion, establishing these regions as legitimate players in the global market. For example, in Mexico, the fintech platform Plata recently attracted about $500 million (the largest private deal in Mexican fintech history) ahead of the launch of its own digital bank — a vivid demonstration of growing investor interest in promising markets.
Thus, venture capital has become more global than ever before. Promising projects are now able to secure funding regardless of geography, provided they demonstrate potential for business scaling. For investors, this opens new horizons: opportunities for high-yield investments can be sought worldwide, diversifying risks across different countries and regions. The spread of the venture boom to new territories also fosters the exchange of experience and talents, making the global startup ecosystem more interconnected and dynamic.
Russia and the CIS: Local Initiatives Amid Global Trends
Despite external sanction pressures, startup activity is gradually reviving in Russia and neighbouring countries. In 2025, several new venture funds totalling several tens of billions of roubles are set to launch, aimed at supporting early-stage technology projects. Major corporations are creating their own accelerators and corporate venture units, while government programmes are helping startups secure grants and investments. For example, over 1 billion roubles in investments were attracted to local technology projects as a result of Moscow's "Innovators Academy" programme.
While the scale of venture deals in the region may still lag behind global levels, it is steadily increasing. The relaxation of some restrictions has opened up opportunities for capital inflow from "friendly" countries, partially compensating for the withdrawal of Western investments. Some technology companies are seriously considering seeking public listings for their divisions as market conditions improve: for instance, the management of VK Tech (the subsidiary of VK) has recently indicated the possibility of an IPO in the foreseeable future. New government support measures and corporate initiatives are aimed at providing an additional boost to the local startup ecosystem and aligning its development with global trends.
Conclusion: Cautious Optimism on the Threshold of 2026
As 2025 draws to a close, moderately optimistic sentiments have taken root in the venture capital industry. Record funding rounds and successful IPOs have vividly illustrated that the downturn period is behind us. Nonetheless, market participants continue to exercise caution. Investors are paying increased attention to project quality and the sustainability of business models, striving to avoid unwarranted hype. The focus of the new surge in venture investments is no longer on a race for inflated valuations but rather on seeking genuinely promising ideas that can deliver profitability and transform entire industries.
Even the largest funds are advocating for a measured approach. Many participants note that the valuations of some startups remain very high and are not always backed by strong business metrics. Acknowledging the risk of overheating (particularly in the AI segment), the venture community intends to act thoughtfully, blending bold investments with thorough "homework" on market and product analysis. Thus, on the doorstep of 2026, the industry welcomes the new year with cautious optimism, aiming for sustainable growth without repeating the excesses of the past.
