Startup and Venture Investment News for Thursday, January 15, 2026: Record AI Rounds, Return of Mega Funds, Resurgence in IPOs, and Key Trends in the Global Venture Market.
- Return of Mega Funds: Leading venture firms and investors are actively forming record funds and increasing capital investments in new projects.
- Record Investments in AI: Startups in the artificial intelligence sector raised approximately $150 billion in 2025, leading to a new wave of "unicorns."
- Revival of IPOs and M&A: The IPO market is waking up again, and the number of mergers and acquisitions is growing, opening additional exit routes for investors.
- Industry Diversification: Capital is being more widely distributed: in addition to AI, there is significantly increased interest in fintech, green technologies, biotechnology, and defense startups.
- Global Boom: The U.S. continues to attract the lion's share of venture investments (~70% in 2025), but new tech parks are actively developing in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
- Russia and the CIS: The domestic venture market is undergoing transformation: the volume of investments in Russian startups decreased by about 10% in 2025, yet new funds and technology support programs are being launched.
Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back on the Market
After a two-year decline, the market is once again attracting large investments: leading venture firms worldwide are forming record funds. For example, American company Andreessen Horowitz raised over $15 billion across five new funds—marking the largest round in the firm's history. This represents nearly 18% of all venture investments in the U.S. for 2025. Similar trends are observed globally: funds are accumulating hundreds of billions of "dry powder" ready for deployment. Sovereign and private investment funds from Middle Eastern countries are also reactivating, investing billions in the development of the tech sector and creating regional tech parks.
AI Breakthrough: Record Investments and New Unicorns
Startups in the artificial intelligence space remain capital magnets. According to analysts, investments in AI companies reached a historic $150 billion in 2025, significantly eclipsing previous records. Super-sized rounds pushed the valuations of leading players to unprecedented heights. The largest deals included rounds for OpenAI (~$40–41 billion) and Anthropic (~$13 billion), further fueling the hype around AI. Projects like xAI and Scale AI also attracted tens of billions. A significant portion of funds is concentrated in the hands of a few companies, raising analysts' concerns about bubble risks in the AI sector. Nevertheless, the current investment boom is spawning numerous new "unicorns" (startups valued above $1 billion) and stimulating the development of high-tech infrastructure—such as data centers and specialized chips for AI.
IPO Market Revival: An Opportunity Window for Exits
Stock exchanges are once again gaining attention—several large tech companies have successfully gone public, indicating a revival of investor interest in IPOs. In Asia (primarily Hong Kong), large-scale placements of major startups were conducted, while the U.S. is preparing for upcoming public debuts of notable "unicorns." The revival of the IPO market is crucial for the venture capital ecosystem: successful stock market exits enable funds to realize profits and reinvest in new projects. Concurrently, M&A activity is on the rise: in 2025, the number of startup acquisition deals increased, providing alternatives for scaling and exit routes for investors. Notably, in the Middle East, the volume of M&A deals rose by 41%, reflecting an overall industry shift toward consolidation.
Investment Diversification: Beyond AI
Venture capital is increasingly being allocated across industries. Fintech remains one of the most active sectors: for instance, in the Middle East and North Africa, fintech attracted a record $1.15 billion in investments, marking the largest share among deals in the region. Additionally, there is growing interest in "green" technologies—projects focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainability—as well as in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals following a prolonged lull in these sectors. Defense and cybersecurity technologies are receiving increased support amid global instability. Such diversification of investments makes the entire sector more balanced and reduces the market's dependence on a single trend.
Consolidation and M&A: The Market is Structuring
Corporate acquisitions and strategic investments are intensifying. Large tech and financial companies are acquiring promising startups, expanding their portfolios of innovation. In 2025, major M&A deals surged, providing early investors with exit paths alongside IPOs. The rise in M&A activity is observable across all regions: as previously mentioned, in the Middle East, the number of deals increased by over 40%. Shares are being acquired to accelerate startup development and consolidate technologies under one management, facilitating the creation of strong players in the industry.
Global Spread: New Regions and Leaders
Despite the leading role of the U.S., the venture boom is becoming increasingly global. According to CB Insights, American startups raised around $327.8 billion in 2025 (about 70% of total global capital), yet activity is also booming in other parts of the world. European companies received about $68 billion (18% of the market), with Germany surpassing the UK in deal volume for the first time. In Asia, investments are shifting from China to India and Southeast Asia, where new tech ecosystems are forming. In the Middle East, the volume of investments reached a record $3.8 billion (a 74% increase), while the first local "unicorns" emerged in Africa and Latin America, highlighting the truly global nature of the current startup boom. Investors are actively seeking innovation worldwide, from developed markets to emerging regions.
Russia and the CIS: Local Initiatives Amid Changes
In Russia and neighboring countries, the startup market continues to transform under the influence of internal and external factors. According to "Kommersant," the volume of deals in the Russian venture sector decreased by approximately 10% in 2025 (to 7.2 billion rubles), and the number of deals fell by a third, indicating a "deep compression" in the market. However, the government and large corporations continue to support innovative projects: new state and corporate funds are launching, accelerators are opening, and grant programs and partnership initiatives are being developed. All of this aims to create an "autonomous" development model and integrate Russian startups into global technology trends, even amid international constraints.
