Global Startup and Venture Capital News for November 26, 2025: The Return of Mega Funds, Record Rounds in AI, Revival of the IPO Market, Wave of M&A, Renewed Interest in Crypto Startups, and Emergence of New Unicorns. A Review for Venture Investors and Funds.
By the end of November 2025, the global venture capital market is firmly rebounding after the prolonged downturn of recent years. According to industry analysts, the total volume of venture investments in the third quarter of 2025 reached approximately $97 billion—an increase of 38% compared to the previous year, marking the best quarterly performance since 2021. The extended "venture winter" of 2022-2023 is behind us, and the influx of private capital into tech startups is accelerating noticeably. Significant rounds of financing and the launch of new mega funds signal a return of investors' appetite for risk, though they continue to prefer selective and cautious investments.
Venture activity is growing in nearly all regions of the world. The United States leads, particularly in the rapidly developing AI sector. Investment volumes in the Middle East have doubled year-over-year, while for the first time in a decade Germany has surpassed the UK in total venture capital. In Asia, the booming rise in India and Southeast Asia compensates for a relative decline in China, with new tech hubs forming in Africa and Latin America. The startup ecosystems in Russia and the CIS are striving to keep pace, despite external constraints. Overall, the global landscape indicates the emergence of a venture capital boom, even though investors remain selective in backing the most promising and resilient projects.
- The Return of Mega Funds and Large Capital. Leading venture players are creating record funds and are once again actively investing significant amounts in the market, filling the ecosystem with capital and reigniting appetite for risk.
- Record Funding Rounds in AI and New "Unicorns." Unprecedented investments are driving startup valuations to unseen heights, particularly in the artificial intelligence sector, resulting in a new wave of "unicorn" companies (startups valued over $1 billion).
- Revival of the IPO Market. Successful market entries by tech "unicorns" and new applications confirm that the long-awaited "window" for exits remains open.
- Diversification of Industry Focus. Venture capital is being directed not only to AI but also to fintech, climate technologies, biotech, space and defense projects, broadening market horizons.
- Wave of Consolidation and M&A Deals. Major mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments are reshaping the industry landscape, opening new opportunities for exits and scaling companies.
- Renewed Interest in Crypto Startups. After a prolonged "crypto winter," blockchain projects are once again attracting significant funding and attention from venture funds and corporations.
- Local Focus: Russia and the CIS. Despite constraints, new funds and initiatives are emerging to develop local startup ecosystems, drawing investor interest to the region.
The Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back in the Market
The largest investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture arena, indicating a new wave of risk appetite. After a downturn in raising capital from 2022 to 2024, leading funds are resuming fundraising and launching mega funds, demonstrating confidence in market prospects. For instance, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank announced the formation of its third Vision Fund, totaling approximately $40 billion, aimed at investing in cutting-edge technologies (primarily in AI and robotics). In the U.S., firm Andreessen Horowitz is raising a record-sized venture fund—around $20 billion—targeting late-stage investments in AI startups. Sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf States have also ramped up activity, pouring billions into high-tech projects and developing their own tech hubs in the region.
Simultaneously, dozens of new venture funds are emerging worldwide, attracting significant institutional capital for investments in technology companies. American venture funds have amassed unprecedented reserves of "dry powder"—hundreds of billions of dollars in uninvested capital ready to be deployed. The return of such large "mega structures" means more opportunities for startups to secure financing for growth, while competition among investors for the best deals markedly increases.
Record Investments in AI: A New Wave of Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector has become the main driver of the current venture boom, showcasing record inflows of funding. Estimates suggest nearly half of all venture capital raised in 2025 will go to AI startups. Global investments in artificial intelligence this year may exceed $200 billion—an unprecedented level for the industry. The excitement surrounding AI is rooted in the technology's potential to dramatically enhance efficiency across various sectors—from industrial automation and transportation to personal digital assistants—opening new markets worth trillions of dollars. Despite concerns over overheating, funds continue to increase investments, fearing they may miss out on the next technological revolution.
This unprecedented influx of capital is accompanied by its concentration among leaders. The lion's share of funding is directed toward a limited number of companies poised to become defining players in the new era of AI. For example, California-based startup OpenAI has raised approximately $13 billion, the French company Mistral AI around $2 billion, and Jeff Bezos's new venture called Project Prometheus is launching with initial capital of $6.2 billion. Such mega rounds are sharply elevating the valuations of these companies, forming a new cohort of "super unicorns." And although these deals inflate multiples and fuel discussions of a bubble, they also concentrate enormous resources on the most promising directions, laying the groundwork for future breakthroughs.
In recent weeks, dozens of companies worldwide have announced substantial funding rounds. Among the most notable examples is the British platform Synthesia, which raised $200 million at a valuation of about $4 billion to develop AI-based video generation technologies, and U.S. cybersecurity systems developer Armis, which secured $435 million ahead of its IPO at a valuation of $6.1 billion. These deals instantly elevated both companies to "unicorn" status, vividly demonstrating how swiftly large-scale funding can transform a startup into a billion-dollar company.
Revival of the IPO Market: The Exit Window is Open Again
Against a backdrop of rising valuations and capital inflows, tech companies are once again actively preparing to go public. After almost a two-year hiatus, 2025 has seen a surge in IPOs as a key exit mechanism for venture investors. A series of successful IPOs by tech companies this year confirmed that the long-awaited "window of opportunity" for exits remains open. In the U.S., over 300 IPOs have already taken place this year—substantially more than in 2024—and the shares of several debutants have shown solid growth. Positive signals are also visible in emerging markets; for instance, the Indian educational "unicorn" PhysicsWallah went public in November, with its shares skyrocketing more than 30% on the first day of trading, providing an encouraging indicator for the entire EdTech sector.
The success of recent listings is restoring confidence that the market can absorb an influx of new tech companies going public. Following the initial "harbingers," several large private companies have announced plans to conduct IPOs, aiming to capitalize on the favorable market conditions. Even giants like OpenAI are considering public offering in 2026, with a potential valuation in the hundreds of billions of dollars—an unprecedented case for the venture industry, if it occurs. Overall, the revival of the IPO market expands the horizons for exit opportunities, facilitating capital returns for funds and stimulating a new cycle of investments in startups.
Diversification of Industries: Investment Horizons are Expanding
In 2025, venture investments encompass a much broader range of sectors and are no longer solely focused on AI. After the downturn of the previous year, there is evident rejuvenation in fintech: new fintech startups are attracting large rounds, particularly in the payment systems and decentralized finance (DeFi) sectors. A booming growth is also observed in climate ("green") technologies in response to the global demand for sustainable development—investors are funding projects ranging from renewable energy to carbon capture technologies.
There is a resurgence of interest in biotech and medtech; large funds, particularly in Europe, are forming specialized instruments to support pharmaceutical and medical startups. Space and defense technologies are also coming to the forefront—geopolitical factors and the successes of private space companies are driving investments in satellite constellations, rocket manufacturing, unmanned systems, and military AI. Thus, the sector focus of venture capital has significantly broadened, enhancing market resilience: even if excitement over AI diminishes, other sectors are ready to carry the innovation baton.
Wave of Consolidation and M&A: The Industry is Changing Shape
High valuations of startups and heightened competition are prompting companies to seek synergy through mergers and acquisitions. In 2025, a new wave of consolidation has emerged: major tech corporations are once again actively pursuing acquisitions, while mature startups are combining forces to strengthen their positions. These deals are reshaping the industry landscape, enabling the construction of more resilient business models and providing investors with long-awaited exits.
In recent months, several high-profile M&A deals have captured the attention of the venture community. For example, American tech giant Cisco announced the acquisition of a startup specializing in AI translations to integrate its technologies into its product line. Other corporations are not lagging behind: strategic investors from the financial and industrial sectors are acquiring promising fintech and IoT companies in pursuit of access to their developments and customer bases. Meanwhile, some "unicorns" prefer to merge with each other or sell to major players, aiming to jointly overcome rising costs and accelerate scaling. For venture funds, this wave of consolidation opens new exit pathways—successful M&A deals often yield substantial profits and validate the viability of invested business models.
Renewed Interest in Crypto Startups: The Market Awakens After the "Crypto Winter"
Following a prolonged downturn in interest towards cryptocurrency projects—the so-called "crypto winter"—the situation began to change in 2025. Venture investments in crypto startups saw significant growth: the total funding for blockchain projects this year exceeded $20 billion, more than double that of 2024. Investors are once again showing interest in infrastructure solutions for the crypto market, decentralized finance (DeFi), blockchain platforms, and Web3 applications.
Even the largest funds in Silicon Valley and previously conservative players are returning to this segment. In recent weeks, several crypto and DeFi startups have secured funding rounds from prominent investors. For instance, the venture division of brokerage firm Robinhood and the Founders Fund led by Peter Thiel participated in financing a promising blockchain platform. In one of the largest deals of the year, American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken raised $800 million, achieving a valuation of around $20 billion. By the end of the year, the volume of venture capital invested in crypto projects could approach a record $25 billion. All of this indicates a kind of renaissance in the industry: after cleansing the market of speculation, the focus has shifted to real use cases for blockchain, attracting smarter money. Several crypto startups are again nearing unicorn status, while some exchanges and infrastructure projects have already reached billion-dollar valuations.
Local Focus: Russia and CIS Countries
Despite external constraints, active steps are being taken in Russia and neighboring countries to develop local startup ecosystems. Government and private institutions are launching new funds and programs aimed at supporting early-stage tech projects. For example, authorities in Saint Petersburg discussed the establishment of a municipal venture fund in November to finance promising high-tech companies—similar to Tatarstan, where a fund of 15 billion rubles is already operational. Moreover, large corporations and banks in the region are increasingly stepping in as investors and mentors for startups, developing corporate accelerators and their own venture divisions.
Beyond governmental efforts, there is a noticeable vibrancy in the entrepreneurial community. International tech forums and summits (e.g., the recent Moscow AI Journey 2025) are drawing attention to local innovations and building bridges between Russian developers and global investors. All these changes demonstrate that even under sanctions, the local venture scene continues to adapt and develop. For investors, the region offers new growth points—with a measured approach to risks—as a potentially promising market for venture investments.
