Current Startup and Venture Investment News as of September 20, 2025: Mega-Rounds in AI, New Unicorns, IPO Market Revival, M&A Deals, Crypto Industry Renaissance, and a Boom in Defense and Aerospace Investments.
By the end of September 2025, the global venture capital market continues its robust recovery after several years of decline. Investors worldwide have resumed funding technology companies at all stages—from early seed rounds to preparing startups for IPOs. In the first half of 2025, the volume of venture investments reached its highest level since 2021. Against the backdrop of improved macroeconomic conditions and increased interest in innovations, confidence in the venture market is strengthening: deals are becoming larger and cover a wide range of sectors—from artificial intelligence and fintech to biotechnology and defense.
The venture capital boom is evident across all regions. The United States remains the leader, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the global investment volume (especially dominating in the AI sector). In the Middle East, funding volumes for startups nearly doubled over the year, fueled by multi-billion dollar tech initiatives in the Gulf countries. In Europe, structural shifts are occurring: Germany has surpassed the UK in total venture deal volume for the first time in a decade, although Europe's share of global VC has slightly decreased. India and Southeast Asia maintain an investment boom, bolstered by foreign funds, while activity in China remains subdued due to domestic restrictions. Startups in Russia and the CIS are striving to keep pace with global trends, with new funds and innovation support programs emerging in the region.
Below are the key trends and events in the venture capital market as of September 20, 2025:
- Return of Mega-Funds and Large Investors. Leading venture players are raising record-sized funds and increasing investments, revitalizing the market with capital and rekindling risk appetite.
- Record Funding Rounds and a New Wave of Unicorns. Exceptionally large deals are driving startup valuations to unprecedented heights, particularly in the artificial intelligence and robotics segments.
- Revival of the IPO Market. A series of successful public listings of high-tech companies signals the opening of an “exit window” and the return of liquidity to the venture market.
- 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 companies.
- Renaissance of the Crypto Industry. A rally in the digital asset market has reignited investors' interest in blockchain projects, leading to new significant funding rounds and the emergence of institutional products for the crypto market.
- Surge in Defense and Aerospace Investments. Geopolitical factors are driving capital influx into defense-tech and aerospace projects, making these sectors a new priority for venture funds.
- Local Initiatives in Russia and the CIS. New funds and support measures for startups are being launched in the region, and local projects are attracting foreign capital, integrating into global trends.
Return of Mega-Funds: Big Capital Returns to the Market
The largest investment entities are re-entering the venture arena, signaling an increased risk appetite. Japan’s conglomerate SoftBank has announced the launch of its third Vision Fund, with a volume of around $40 billion, focused on advanced sectors. Sovereign funds from Gulf states have also ramped up activity, pouring billions into national tech parks and startup programs, transforming the Middle East into a technology attraction center. Notably, the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is targeting a mega-fund of approximately $20 billion, wholly dedicated to investments in AI companies—if successful, it would be the largest fund in the firm’s history. The increased influx of capital from such “mega-funds” has led to a sharp rise in the volume of uninvested capital (“dry powder”) in the market. In the American venture sector, funds have accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars ready for deployment as confidence returns. This intensifies competition for the best startups and sustains high valuations of promising companies. The presence of large institutional funds strengthens the industry’s belief that a long-term capital influx will continue.
Mega-Rounds in AI: A New Wave of Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the main driver of the venture market in 2025, demonstrating record funding volumes. Investors are eager to secure positions among the leaders of the new technological cycle, directing colossal sums into the most promising projects. In recent weeks, several unprecedented deals have confirmed this trend, including OpenAI's record round: approximately $8.3 billion in investments with a valuation of around $300 billion (jointly with Microsoft, the startup is carving out a separate direction for a future IPO).
Such mega-rounds are shaping a generation of new “unicorns” and accelerating the emergence of tomorrow's technology leaders. Despite warnings of potential market overheating, investors' appetite for cutting-edge projects remains high. It is worth noting that funding is going not only to applied AI products but also to infrastructure solutions—specialized chips, cloud platforms, and data storage systems necessary for scaling the AI ecosystem.
IPO Market Revival: Window for Exits Open
After the downturn of 2022–2023, the IPO market is once again showing signs of life. Successful public offerings of several high-tech companies have demonstrated that investors are once more willing to purchase shares of fast-growing startups at high valuations. The new wave of IPO debuts bolsters venture funds’ confidence in the potential for lucrative exits.
- Chime. The American fintech unicorn (neobank) debuted on Nasdaq in June; shares soared by 30% on the first day of trading, confirming high investor demand for promising fintech companies.
- Klarna. The Swedish fintech giant debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming one of the first European “unicorns” to list in the U.S. after a long hiatus. Shares were sold above the initial range and appreciated by more than 25% in the first hours of trading.
The success of these offerings signals the return of liquidity to the venture market. Following these successes, other major startups are preparing for IPOs. The revival of IPO activity is crucial for the entire ecosystem: successful exits allow venture funds to realize profits and reinvest the freed-up capital into new projects, fueling the next growth cycle.
Wave of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
High valuations for startups and fierce competition for markets are pushing the industry toward a new wave of consolidation. Major tech corporations are once again ready to spend billions on strategic acquisitions to strengthen their positions and gain access to leading developments. A number of significant deals in recent months confirm this trend. For instance, Alphabet acquired the Israeli startup Wiz for about $32 billion to bolster its cybersecurity capabilities in cloud services.
The activation of acquisitions is reshaping the balance of power in the industry. Mature startups are either merging with one another or becoming targets for corporations. For venture investors, this opens up opportunities for long-awaited exits through the sale of portfolio companies to strategic players. At the same time, consolidation allows for the removal of redundant competitors from the market and focuses resources on the most promising directions.
Renaissance of the Crypto Industry
The digital asset market is experiencing a new upsurge in the latter half of 2025. Bitcoin has surpassed its historical peak (around $120,000), once again drawing investors' attention to blockchain projects. Major funds are returning to the crypto market, significant funding rounds are happening, and institutional players are launching new products. For example, investment giant BlackRock has introduced a Bitcoin-linked ETF, showcasing increasing institutional recognition of cryptocurrencies.
Defense Technologies and Aerospace at the Forefront
The geopolitical tensions of recent years have led to unprecedented growth in investments in the defense and aerospace sectors. Investments in defense-tech startups have surged significantly: major rounds—such as the ~$2.5 billion raised by American autonomous systems developer Anduril—show investors' willingness to fund security-related projects. Investors (and occasionally governmental bodies) actively support developments in drones, cybersecurity, military AI systems, as well as new space programs and satellite platforms.
Defense and aerospace sectors are rapidly becoming a new priority for venture funds. Overall, investments in these strategic sectors promise not only commercial advantages but also strategic benefits—making them attractive even to relatively conservative investors.
Russia and the CIS: Local Trends Stay Relevant
In 2025, a private fund, Nova VC (around 10 billion rubles), was launched in Russia, and an industry-specific venture fund “New Chemical Industry” (up to 6 billion rubles) was established in Tatarstan to facilitate local innovation development. Authorities are discussing a special law on venture investments. Despite the constraints, startups from the CIS are finding support abroad—for instance, the service Vocal Image (Estonia) secured $3.6 million from a French venture fund.
Consequently, the venture ecosystem in Russia and the CIS, though still trailing behind Silicon Valley or China in scale, is forming its own infrastructure and success stories. Local funds, government initiatives, and partnerships with friendly foreign players are helping startups in the region grow amidst challenging conditions. For investors, this is a signal that interesting opportunities exist not only on the global stage but also in local markets, which are ready for growth with the right support.
