Global Startup and Venture Investment News as of October 28, 2025. Mega Rounds in AI, a Return of Mega Funds, Growth in IPOs, and New Funds. Trend Analysis for Venture Investors.
By the end of October 2025, the global venture market is showing solid growth after several years of decline. Investors around the world are once again actively investing in technology startups — record deals are being closed, and companies' IPO plans are back in the spotlight. Major players are returning to the market with substantial investments. Governments in various countries are ramping up support for innovation, stimulating the influx of private capital into startup ecosystems, and providing a new impetus for industry growth. According to industry analysts, in the third quarter of 2025, the total volume of venture investments worldwide increased by almost 40% year-on-year — a clear indication of the return of risk appetite.
Venture activity is rising across all regions. The US remains a leader (especially in the rapidly growing AI sector); in the Middle East, investment volume has almost doubled in a year; in Europe, reshuffling is observed, as Germany surpassed the UK in venture funding for the first time in a decade. In Asia, regulatory uncertainty continues to dampen activity in China, while India, Southeast Asia, and Gulf countries attract record flows of capital. The investment boom is reaching new horizons, with tech hubs emerging in Africa and Latin America. The startup ecosystems in Russia and the CIS are also striving to keep pace, despite external constraints. There is a global venture upturn, although investors remain selective and cautious regarding deals.
Below are key events and trends in the startup industry as of October 28, 2025:
- The return of mega funds and large investors. Leading venture funds are raising record-sized funds and sharply increasing investments, saturating the market with capital and reigniting risk appetite.
- Record investment rounds in AI and a new wave of "unicorns." Extremely large investments in AI startups are driving company valuations to unprecedented heights, creating a new generation of "unicorns."
- Revival of the IPO market. Successful public offerings of tech companies and new listing applications indicate that the long-awaited "window" for exits has reopened.
- Boom in defense technologies. Geopolitical tensions are generating increased interest in startups focused on defense and security, bringing them to the forefront of the venture agenda.
- Diversification of industry focus. Venture capital is being directed not only to AI but also to fintech, climate ("green") projects, biotechnology, and even crypto startups.
- A wave of consolidation: M&A deals. Major mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the industry landscape, creating new opportunities for profitable exits and accelerated company growth.
- Local focus: Russia and CIS. New funds and programs are being launched in the region to develop local startup ecosystems, attracting investor interest despite external constraints.
- Cautious optimism among investors. The market is experiencing an uptick; however, participants are taking a balanced approach to evaluating startups and avoiding excessive risk.
The Return of Mega Funds: Big Money is Back on the Market
The largest investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture stage, marking a new surge in risk appetite. For example, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has invested billions in a leading AI market player, while American Andreessen Horowitz aims to raise a record fund of $10 billion for investments in AI and defense.
Sovereign funds from wealthy Gulf countries have also significantly ramped up their activity: they are pouring billions into tech projects and launching government mega-programs to support the startup sector, creating their own tech hubs in the Middle East. New venture funds are being established around the world, attracting considerable institutional capital for investments in high-tech areas.
Prominent Silicon Valley funds have accumulated record reserves of uninvested capital ("dry powder") — hundreds of billions of dollars are ready to be deployed as soon as market confidence is restored. The influx of such "big money" intensifies competition for the best deals while instilling confidence in the industry regarding capital availability. The return of mega funds signals that investors are once again willing to finance ambitious projects with large checks, renewing the growth momentum of the venture market.
Record Investments in AI and New Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the chief driver of the current venture upsurge, showcasing unprecedented funding volumes. Investors are eager to secure positions among AI leaders, directing huge resources to the most promising projects. In just the last few weeks, several mega-rounds have been announced: for instance, the American startup Crusoe, which is building data center infrastructure for AI models, raised approximately $1.38 billion at a valuation of around $10 billion. Significant rounds have also been closed by foundational AI model developers like Anthropic (totaling about $13 billion in investments) and xAI (~$5.3 billion). Such deals elevate company valuations to previously unseen heights and highlight the frenzy around AI startups.
Importantly, not only applied AI products are receiving funding, but also infrastructure solutions — the market is willing to generously compensate even for the "picks and shovels" of the new "gold rush" in AI. As a result, the current investment boom is giving rise to a multitude of new "unicorns" (private companies valued at over $1 billion). While some experts caution against the risk of overheating certain projects, the venture capital appetite for AI startups remains extremely high. Moreover, capital in the market is concentrating around the largest rounds: according to Crunchbase, in 2025, about 70% of all investments in American startups were allocated to deals of $100 million or more, while globally, the share of such mega-rounds reached approximately 60%. Investors are increasingly focusing on a limited circle of the most promising companies, preferring to invest large sums in leaders with breakthrough technologies and scalable business models.
The IPO Market Comes Alive: A Wave of Public Offerings
The global market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is beginning to emerge from a prolonged lull and is gaining momentum once again. In Asia, Hong Kong is leading a new wave of tech IPOs: in recent months, several large tech companies have successfully gone public, collectively raising billions of dollars. The situation is also improving in the US and Europe: several highly valued startups have made successful debuts on the stock market, attracting significant investor interest and experiencing strong stock price growth in the initial trading days. Below are the largest venture IPOs from the third quarter of 2025:
- Chery Automobile — a Chinese automaker whose valuation at IPO became one of the highest in the year.
- Figma — an American design platform that went public at a valuation of around $15-20 billion.
- Klarna — a Swedish fintech "unicorn" (a "buy now, pay later" service) that successfully entered the public market.
- Netskope — an American cybersecurity company that completed its listing with a multi-billion dollar valuation.
Even the crypto industry is trying to capitalize on the improving market conditions. The fintech company Circle successfully conducted an IPO last summer (its market capitalization grew significantly after going public), while the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has applied for listing in the US, targeting a valuation of around $4 billion. The revival of activity in the IPO market is crucial for the venture ecosystem: successful public offerings allow funds to realize profits, return capital to investors, and redirect the freed-up resources to support new projects.
Defense Technologies Boom: A New Priority for Investors
In the context of geopolitical tensions, the niche for defense and military technology startups is experiencing rapid growth. Venture investors are actively funding projects related to defense and security, and investment volume in this sector has significantly increased in 2025, nearing record levels of previous years. In Europe alone, analysts estimate that investments in defense and security startups will exceed $8 billion this year (compared to approximately $5.4 billion in 2024). Startups developing defense technologies are emerging as a new growth focal point for the industry.
New ambitious players are also emerging, challenging traditional defense giants. A striking example is the American startup Anduril, whose valuation approaches $30 billion. Major venture funds are similarly channeling significant funds toward national security projects, underscoring the emergence of a new priority for the industry. Despite ongoing barriers, investing in defense technologies is increasingly viewed as a promising and socially significant avenue, supported by both private and public capital.
Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI
Despite the dominating narrative surrounding artificial intelligence, venture investments are encompassing an increasingly broader range of sectors and are no longer limited to AI alone. Following last year's downturn, fintech is again gaining momentum: significant rounds are occurring not only in the US but also in Europe and emerging markets, fueling the growth of new digital financial services. Concurrently, there has been a sharp increase in interest in climate and "green" technologies: projects in renewable energy, sustainable solutions, and agri-tech are attracting record investments on the wave of a global sustainability trend. Analysts estimate that in the first nine months of 2025, global climate startups raised over $56 billion in investments — more than in the entire year of 2024.
Investor appetite for biotechnology is also returning, especially in pharmaceuticals and digital health: the emergence of promising developments and platforms is once again attracting capital as the industry gradually emerges from a period of falling valuations. Additionally, following heightened attention to security, investors have begun returning to the defense technology segment, and a partial restoration of confidence in the cryptocurrency market has allowed some blockchain projects to secure funding once more. Thus, the broadening of industry focus is making the entire startup ecosystem more resilient and reducing the risk of overheating in specific segments. Investors are ready to support not only AI projects but also fintech innovators, green startups, biotech, and other promising areas.
Market Consolidation and M&A Deals
High valuations for startups and intense competition are fueling a wave of consolidation in the industry. Major mergers and acquisitions are again taking center stage, reshaping market roles. Tech giants are closely monitoring leading startups, aiming to acquire key technologies and teams.
In recent months, several high-profile acquisitions have drawn industry attention. For instance, Google has agreed to acquire the Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for approximately $32 billion — a record amount for the Israeli market. There is also a noted increase in strategic purchases: in the first half of 2025, the total volume of startup acquisitions exceeded $100 billion (up 155% year-over-year), as large companies are willing to write large checks for promising assets, particularly in the fields of AI and enterprise technologies.
Overall, the activation of M&A deals signifies the maturation of the ecosystem. Mature startups are either merging with one another or becoming targets for acquisition by corporations, providing venture investors with long-awaited profitable exits and accelerating the scaling of innovations.
Russia and CIS: New Funds and Initiatives
Despite external constraints, there is a resurgence of startup activity in Russia and neighboring countries, alongside systematic efforts to develop the local ecosystem. In 2025, several new venture funds have been announced:
- Nova Capital — a fund with a volume of 10 billion rubles aimed at investing in early-stage IT startups.
- Kama Flow — a similarly sized new fund focused on supporting later-stage projects.
- Corporate funds — several large corporations and banks are also forming their own venture divisions, targeting domestic tech projects.
Beyond financing, accelerators, educational programs, and other initiatives are being launched in the region to support entrepreneurs. Local startups are beginning to attract the attention of investors not only from Russia but also from foreign partners in friendly countries. While the volumes of the venture market in Russia and CIS still lag behind global leaders, the region is endeavoring to keep pace with global trends. Investors here are acting selectively and focusing on niches where local teams hold competitive advantages.
Cautious Optimism and New Opportunities
As we approach 2026, the startup and venture investment industry is confidently entering a phase of recovery. The global influx of capital, a wave of new unicorns, successful IPOs, and strategic deals indicate a restoration of trust in the market. Meanwhile, ecosystem participants maintain a degree of prudence: investors are approaching project evaluations more thoughtfully, favoring startups with sustainable business models and realistic growth plans, while striving to avoid excessive risk.
This balanced approach inspires measured optimism. The venture market is returning to growth on a more sustainable basis, without overheating in specific segments. This opens new opportunities for investors and founders worldwide — the market is developing qualitatively, creating a solid foundation for the continued expansion of the startup scene.
