Startup and Venture Capital News - Wednesday, December 24, 2025: Dominance of AI, Return of Mega Funds, and Revival of IPOs
By the end of 2025, the global venture capital market is exhibiting robust growth after several years of decline. Investment volumes in startups have substantially increased, with major players and institutional investors re-engaging. Authorities in various countries are also launching initiatives to support innovation. The overall trends indicate a new cycle of venture growth, although investors remain selective and cautious in their deal-making.
Venture activity is rising across all regions. The USA maintains its leadership, particularly in the artificial intelligence (AI) segment, while the Middle East is displaying record growth in funding, and India, Southeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf are attracting significant capital amidst a relative slowdown in China. Russia and the CIS, despite external constraints, are striving to develop their own startup ecosystems. Africa and Latin America are also witnessing an influx of investments and the emergence of new tech companies. The return of large capital is a global phenomenon, though it is unevenly distributed across countries and sectors.
Below are key events and trends shaping the current agenda of the venture market as of December 24, 2025:
- AI Dominates Venture Investments. For the first time, AI startups account for nearly half of all investments.
- Return of Mega Funds and Large Investors. Leading venture funds have increased their investment volumes, and new investment "mega funds" have been launched, bringing capital into the market.
- Record Mega Funding Rounds and New "Unicorns." Unprecedented rounds of funding are raising startup valuations to new heights, with dozens of new "unicorn" companies emerging.
- Revival of the IPO Market. Successful public offerings of tech companies and new filings confirm that the long-awaited "window" for exits remains open.
- Diversification of Sectors. Venture capital is flowing not only into AI but also into fintech, climate technologies, biotech, defense operations, and cryptocurrency projects.
- Consolidation and M&A Deals. Major mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments are redistributing the market, creating exit opportunities and pathways for scaling.
- Local Focus: Russia and CIS. The region is seeing the emergence of new funds and support programs aimed at stimulating the growth of local startups despite prevailing limitations.
AI Captures a Record Share of Venture Funding
The artificial intelligence sector has become the primary driver of the venture market in 2025. At the end of the year, AI startups accounted for about 50% of the global venture investment volume (over $200 billion of the total amount). In comparison, the previous year, AI's share was around 34%. Investments in the AI sector surged by approximately 75% compared to 2024, representing an unprecedented increase.
Massive funds are being directed towards both generative AI model developers and companies creating AI-based infrastructure and applications. The two most valuable private startups in the world are now linked to artificial intelligence: OpenAI is valued at around $500 billion (following a funding round amounting to tens of billions of dollars), while competitor Anthropic has reached a valuation of approximately $180 billion. Together, these two companies accounted for about 14% of all venture investments worldwide for the year. The USA completely dominates this segment: about 80% of investments in AI startups went to American companies, with Silicon Valley alone attracting over $120 billion.
The AI boom is radically transforming the venture industry. Major tech corporations and funds are actively participating in gigantic funding rounds: for example, Meta invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI, while SoftBank led a record round for OpenAI (approximately $40 billion). As a result, the largest players are accumulating a significant portion of the capital while simultaneously stimulating the development of the entire sector. The question for the future is whether AI leaders will continue to attract tens of billions in investments annually or will seek alternatives (for instance, partnerships for access to computing resources).
Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back in the Market
In 2025, the venture arena has triumphantly welcomed back the largest investment players. After a hiatus over the past few years, leading funds and investors are ready to allocate significant sums to startups once again. The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank launched its third Vision Fund with a volume of around $40 billion, targeting advanced technologies (AI, robotics, etc.). Sovereign funds from the Middle East have also ramped up activity: billions of dollars are being invested by regional state investors into technology projects, and state mega-projects and tech hubs are being established to support the startup sector.
Concurrently, new venture funds of all sizes continue to emerge globally. In December alone, the total volume of announced new funds exceeded $9 billion (at least 16 new venture and private funds were launched that month). Major global funds have amassed record volumes of dry powder: in the USA alone, venture investors are holding hundreds of billions of dollars in uninvested capital, ready for deployment. This influx of "big money" is filling the ecosystem with liquidity, providing resources for new funding rounds and supporting the growth of valuations for promising companies.
Beyond private funds, significant roles are also being played by government initiatives worldwide. For instance, in Europe, the Deutschlandfonds has been launched with a volume of €30 billion, aimed at attracting up to €130 billion in private investments in technology startups, energy transformation, and Germany's industrial sector. Governments recognize the importance of the venture market for economic competitiveness and are willing to temporarily act as a catalyst for investment. The return of major capital sources—both private and governmental—instills confidence within the industry regarding the continued growth of venture investments.
Record Rounds and New Unicorns: An Investment Boom
The venture market of 2025 is characterized not only by overall growth but also by the concentration of capital in the largest deals. Mega rounds (hundreds of millions and billions of dollars in a single round) have become commonplace, particularly in the AI sector. A lion's share of all funds has been concentrated in a limited number of companies: estimates suggest that several dozen startups received about a third of the total funding volume for the year. Late-stage rounds (Series C and beyond) increased by over 60% compared to the previous year, while the number of early-stage deals has declined. A "two-speed" market is forming: the largest unicorns easily attract billion-dollar checks, whereas young teams face difficulties in closing rounds—investors impose higher requirements regarding products and revenues.
Nevertheless, the investment boom has spawned a new wave of unicorn companies. In 2025, dozens of startups worldwide achieved unicorn status (a valuation exceeding $1 billion)—the first time since the 2021 boom that saw such a mass emergence of highly valued companies. Particularly active unicorns are arising in the AI and fintech sectors, but they can also be found in other industries. Although experts warn of overheating risks, many funds are eager not to miss the opportunity to invest in potential market leaders at relatively early stages of their growth.
Examples of major venture rounds in 2025:
- OpenAI — raised approximately $40 billion in investments over the year (a record round led by SoftBank) and achieved a valuation of about $500 billion.
- Anthropic — secured multi-billion funding from a consortium of investors (including major tech giants), raising its valuation to about $180 billion.
- Scale AI — a data startup for AI received $14.3 billion from Meta and partners, marking one of the largest rounds of the year.
- Cerebras Systems — a developer of AI hardware accelerators secured $1.1 billion in a Series G round (valuation ~$8 billion) with participation from Fidelity and others.
- Vercel — an AI-oriented web development platform closed $300 million (Series F round) with a valuation of $9.3 billion.
- Crystalys Therapeutics — a US biotech startup raised $205 million in a Series A round for developing new drugs (one of the largest rounds in biopharma for the year).
The IPO Market Revives: Window for Exits is Open
After a long hiatus in 2020–2023, the global IPO window has finally swung open. The year 2025 brought a series of successful public offerings from venture companies, renewing investor confidence in the stock market for tech newcomers. In Asia, this new wave of IPOs was initiated by Hong Kong: several major Chinese tech firms went public, collectively attracting billions of dollars (for instance, battery manufacturer CATL raised $5.2 billion in its IPO). In the USA and Europe, the situation also improved: the American fintech unicorn Chime successfully debuted on the New York Stock Exchange (with a 30% increase in stock price on its first trading day), followed by others, including Swedish payments service Klarna. The total number of unicorns that went public in 2025 exceeded two dozen, significantly higher than the zero figures of the previous two years.
Investors are once again willing to consider IPOs as a realistic exit scenario. Moreover, for 2026, even larger listings are planned: for instance, SpaceX is publicly preparing for its IPO with a potential valuation of up to $1.5 trillion—this could become the largest tech IPO in history. Successful public exits are extremely important for the venture ecosystem: they allow funds to realize profits and free up capital for new investments. Although the market remains selective (not all recent IPOs trade above their offering price), the mere existence of an "opportunity window" has revitalized late-stage venture market activity. Many mature startups are accelerating their preparations for public offerings, hoping to capitalize on favorable market conditions.
Diversification of Investments: Broader Sector, Broader Opportunities
The explosive growth of AI does not mean that all capital is flowing into a single sector. On the contrary, 2025 has marked a revival of funding across many other sectors. Fintech is regaining investor attention: significant rounds have occurred not only in Silicon Valley but also in the European markets and emerging economies. Climate technologies are attracting increasing funding amid the global trend of sustainable development; several funds have emerged in Europe and the USA focused on clean-tech and energy startups (notably, several major deals have taken place in the renewable energy and electric vehicles infrastructure sector).
Biotechnology continues to receive funding: despite the risks, investors are supporting promising biomedical projects (especially in genetics and pharmaceutical developments—evidenced by multi-million rounds for companies like Crystalys Therapeutics and Star Therapeutics). Defense technologies and aerospace startups are also on the rise—geopolitical factors are driving demand for new developments in security, unmanned systems, and space services. Finally, after a decline in interest in previous years, the blockchain startup and crypto financial service sectors are reviving: the rise in cryptocurrency prices in 2025 has drawn renewed attention from some venture funds, enabling several blockchain projects to secure funding rounds in the tens of millions of dollars.
Therefore, by the end of 2025, the venture market has become more diversified. Investors are expanding their horizons in search of promising directions, understanding that the next "big thing" may emerge not only in AI but also at the intersection of other sectors—ranging from fintech and health to energy and environmental protection.
Consolidation and M&A: Large Players Consolidating
The return of large money and high startup valuations has led to a new wave of consolidation in the market. Major corporations and leading unicorns have intensified mergers and acquisitions to bolster their positions and access new technologies. For instance, in 2025 OpenAI acquired the startup Statsig, enhancing its toolkit for developers. Corporations are once again on the "hunt" for promising teams: for example, major enterprise software developer Workday acquired the AI startup Sana (specializing in automating HR processes), while the Google-financed company Isomorphic Labs acquired several small biotech projects to strengthen its portfolio.
Simultaneously, some conglomerates are optimizing their innovation divisions by spinning off non-core segments into independent companies. This opens avenues for venture deals: new startups are emerging within large firms and receiving initial funding for independent development. The wave of M&A deals and corporate spin-offs is transforming the industry landscape, consolidating key players and providing exits for investors through acquisitions. For venture funds, this means more options for exits beyond IPOs.
Consolidation is particularly noticeable in competitive fields: in fintech, companies are merging for customer bases; in the AI sector—for access to unique models or data; in cybersecurity—for integration of solutions. While acquisitions reduce the number of independent startups, they indicate the market's maturation: the most successful projects attract the attention of giants and become part of larger ecosystems. This is a natural path for many teams and an important indicator of the health of the venture market, where the strongest teams get a chance to scale through merger deals.
Russia and CIS: Local Market Seeks Growth
Against the backdrop of global trends, the startup ecosystem in Russia and the CIS in 2025 is attempting to emerge from a prolonged slump. Despite geopolitical constraints and reduced foreign capital, a revival of local venture activity has been observed in the second half of the year. New funds and investors focused on the domestic market are emerging. For instance, the communication group "Mikhailov and Partners" announced the creation of the Rosventure fund to invest in technology projects, while the cybersecurity system developer R-Vision launched a corporate venture fund with a volume of 500 million rubles. Furthermore, with governmental support, several targeted funds and accelerators have been formed (including the "Sirius Innovations" fund in collaboration with the RDIF, totaling 1 billion rubles) to finance promising Russian startups.
The total volume of venture investments in Russia remains modest by the standards of market leaders, but there are signs of stabilization. Major domestic IT companies (e.g., Yandex and Sberbank) continue to invest in new directions, although in total, only about $30 million was directed towards AI projects within the country in 2025. Nevertheless, the local venture market is active: deals are progressing, and technologies for the domestic and neighboring markets are being developed. Among the notable deals of the year are investments from the KAMA FLOW fund (in collaboration with OSNOVA Capital) into projects developing AI platforms:
- Platformeco — secured 100 million rubles from KAMA FLOW for the development of a platform for API integration and management related to AI agents.
- Piklema Group — received 1 billion rubles in investments from the joint fund KAMA FLOW and OSNOVA Capital to scale its technological solutions in the Russian market.
Although the scale of financing in the region is small, the emergence of new funds and deals instills optimism. Local investors and corporations are taking on the role of innovation drivers in the absence of significant foreign investments. Niche areas are developing, ranging from agri-tech to import substitution projects. Russia and neighboring countries are striving not to miss the global trend for tech entrepreneurship, preparing the ground for future growth when external conditions improve.
Conclusions: Moderate Optimism on the Threshold of 2026
The end of 2025 is marked by the recovery of the venture industry and the return of investor confidence. Major rounds and IPOs have demonstrated the market's viability, and the emergence of new funds promises continued capital influx. However, a degree of caution remains: funds are carefully selecting projects, avoiding excessive euphoria. The focus is on quality growth and the long-term sustainability of startups.
Venture investors are entering 2026 with measured optimism. Funding rates are expected to remain high, particularly in leading sectors such as AI, although a correction in valuations may occur after the rapid surge. A key factor for success will be the ability of startups to demonstrate real business development and technology monetization. Overall, the venture market is emerging from a downturn stronger and more mature: the accumulated dry powder is ready for deployment, and startups around the world have a chance to turn the investments received into breakthrough products and services.
