The Global Venture Market is Recovering: Record Investments in Artificial Intelligence, the Return of Mega Funds, Revival of IPOs, and Growing Interest in Climate and Biotechnology Startups.
As of mid-October 2025, the global venture market continues its confident recovery after several years of downturns. Investors worldwide are once again actively funding tech startups—record deals are being made, and companies are prioritizing plans for IPOs. Major players are returning with substantial investments, while governments are ramping up support for innovation. Consequently, private capital is steadily making its way back into the startup ecosystem, providing it with new momentum.
Venture activity is on the rise across all regions. The U.S. remains the leader (especially in artificial intelligence), while venture investment in the Middle East has nearly doubled over the year, and Germany has overtaken the UK for the first time in terms of deal count. India, Southeast Asia, and Gulf countries are attracting record capital flows against the backdrop of reduced activity in China. The startup scenes in the CIS countries are also striving to keep pace, despite external constraints. Overall, a new global venture boom is underway, although investors are still operating selectively and cautiously.
Below are key events and trends shaping the venture market agenda on October 17, 2025:
- The return of mega funds and large investors. Leading venture funds are attracting unprecedented volumes of capital and increasing investments, thus saturating the market with liquidity and fueling risk appetite.
- Record investments in AI and new unicorns. Unusually large funding rounds are driving startup valuations to unprecedented heights, particularly in the AI segment.
- Revival of the IPO market. Successful public listings of tech companies and new listing applications confirm that the long-awaited "window" for exits has reopened.
- Diversification of sector focus. Venture capital is flowing not only into AI but also into fintech, climate technology, biotech, defense projects, and even crypto startups.
- Wave of consolidation and M&A activity. Major mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments are reshaping the industry landscape, creating new opportunities for exits and accelerated growth.
- Local focus: Russia and CIS countries. Despite constraints, new funds and initiatives are being launched in the region to develop local startup ecosystems, gradually attracting investor attention.
The Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back in the Market
The largest investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture arena, signaling a renewed appetite for risk. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank recently launched its Vision Fund III with approximately $40 billion, focused on advanced technologies (including artificial intelligence and robotics). Sovereign funds from Gulf countries are also becoming more active: they are pouring billions into tech projects and launching state megaprograms to support startups, transforming the Middle East into a new tech hub. Simultaneously, numerous new venture funds are being established worldwide, attracting significant institutional capital for investments in high-tech sectors.
Renowned Silicon Valley firms are also increasing their presence. In the U.S. venture sector, funds have accumulated record reserves of uninvested capital (“dry powder”)—hundreds of billions of dollars ready to be deployed as confidence returns to the market. The influx of this “big money” fills the startup market with liquidity, providing resources for new funding rounds and supporting the growth of promising companies’ valuations. The return of mega funds and large institutional investors not only intensifies competition for top deals but also instills confidence within the industry regarding the continued flow of capital.
Record Investments in AI and a New Wave of Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the main driver of the current venture boom, demonstrating record levels of funding. Investors are eager to position themselves among AI leaders, funneling colossal amounts of money into the most promising projects. For instance, Elon Musk's startup xAI raised around $10 billion, while OpenAI attracted about $8 billion with a valuation of approximately $300 billion—both rounds were significantly oversubscribed, highlighting the excitement surrounding AI companies.
Notably, investment is directed not only at end-user AI applications but also at the infrastructure supporting them. For example, one AI data storage startup is reportedly negotiating a multi-billion dollar round at a very high valuation—the market is keen to fund even the "shovels and pickaxes" of this new AI ecosystem. The current investment boom is creating a wave of new unicorns—companies valued over $1 billion. While some experts caution against the risk of overheating, investors' appetite for AI startups remains strong for now.
The IPO Market Awakens: A Window of Opportunity for Exits
The global market for initial public offerings (IPOs) is emerging from a quiet period and gaining traction. In Asia, a new wave of tech IPOs was initiated by Hong Kong: over the past few weeks, several major companies have gone public, collectively raising billions of dollars. For example, the Chinese battery giant CATL successfully went public, attracting approximately $5 billion—this demonstrated investors' readiness in the region to actively participate in new listings again.
In the U.S. and Europe, the situation is also improving. American fintech unicorn Chime recently debuted on the stock exchange, with its shares rising about 30% on the first trading day. Following it, design platform Figma conducted an IPO, raising about $1.2 billion with a valuation of around $15-20 billion, and its stock prices also rose confidently in the early days. In the second half of 2025, other well-known startups, including payment service Stripe and several multi-billion-dollar valued companies, are preparing for their public market debut.
Even the crypto industry is attempting to take advantage of the improving conditions. Fintech company Circle successfully went public in the summer (its shares subsequently rose significantly), while cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has submitted a listing application in the U.S. with a targeted valuation of around $4 billion. The revival of activity in the IPO market is crucial for the venture ecosystem: successful public exits allow funds to realize profits, return capital to investors, and direct freed-up resources into new projects.
Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI
In 2025, venture investments are covering an increasingly broad range of industries and are no longer limited solely to artificial intelligence. After last year's downturn, fintech is regaining momentum: significant rounds are occurring not only in the U.S. but also in Europe and emerging markets, stimulating the growth of new digital financial services. Simultaneously, interest in climate and “green” technologies is rising: projects in renewable energy, eco-friendly solutions, and agtech are attracting record investments against the backdrop of the global trend towards sustainable development.
There is also a resurgence of interest in biotechnology. The emergence of new promising drug developments and med-tech platforms is once again attracting capital as the industry gradually emerges from a period of declining valuations. Furthermore, on the wave of increased attention to security, investors are actively supporting defense-tech startups that create solutions for protection and defense. Even in the cryptocurrency segment, there is a noticeable revival: a partial restoration of trust in the market has allowed some blockchain startups to begin securing funding again. The expansion of sector focus is making the entire startup ecosystem more resilient and reducing the risk of overheating in individual segments.
Consolidation and M&A Deals: Scaling Up Players
High valuations of startups and intense competition are pushing the industry toward consolidation. Major mergers and acquisitions are once again coming to the forefront, redistributing power in the market. For example, Google has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for approximately $32 billion—a record sum for Israel's tech sector. Such mega deals demonstrate the tech giants' eagerness to acquire key technologies and talent.
Additionally, consolidation is occurring within the venture sector itself. For instance, investment bank Goldman Sachs announced its acquisition of venture firm Industry Ventures for nearly $1 billion, highlighting the growing interconnection between traditional finance and the startup world. Overall, the activation of M&A and large strategic deals signifies the maturation of the market. 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 the CIS: Local Initiatives Amid Global Trends
Despite external constraints, there is a revival of startup activity in Russia and neighboring countries. A number of new venture funds totaling around 10-12 billion rubles have been announced, aimed at supporting early-stage tech projects. Local startups are beginning to attract serious capital: for example, the Krasnodar-based foodtech startup Qummy raised about 440 million rubles at a valuation of approximately 2.4 billion rubles. Furthermore, foreign investors are once again permitted to finance local projects in Russia, which is gradually rekindling foreign capital's interest in the region.
While the volumes of venture investments in Russia and the CIS remain relatively modest compared to global figures, they are steadily growing. Some large companies are considering bringing their tech divisions to the public market as market conditions improve— for example, holding company VK has not ruled out the possibility of an IPO of its VK Tech division in the foreseeable future. New government support measures and corporate initiatives aim to provide additional momentum to local startup ecosystems and integrate them into global trends.
Cautious Optimism and Quality Growth
By October 2025, the venture market demonstrates moderately optimistic sentiments: successful IPOs and major deals indicate that the downturn period is behind us. However, investors are still acting selectively, favoring startups with sustainable business models and realistic growth plans. Significant capital inflows into AI and other advanced sectors instill confidence; nonetheless, funds are keen to diversify investments and exert tighter control over risks to prevent the new upswing from turning into overheating. Thus, the industry is entering a new phase of development focused on quality, balanced growth of innovations and capital.
