Global Startup and Venture Capital News for September 17, 2025: Mega Rounds in AI, New Unicorns, IPO Revival, M&A Deals, Crypto Industry Renaissance, and Growth in Defense and Space Investments.
By mid-September 2025, the global venture capital market is steadily recovering after several years of decline. Investors worldwide have reactivated funding for technology companies at all stages of development — from early seed rounds to preparing startups for IPOs. In the first six months of 2025, startups in North America raised approximately $145 billion, which is about 43% higher than the previous year and marks a record half-year since 2021. The improved macroeconomic environment and increased interest in innovation are reinforcing confidence in the venture market: deals are becoming larger and span various sectors — from artificial intelligence and fintech to biotechnology and defense.
The venture surge is being observed across all regions. The U.S. continues to lead, accounting for around two-thirds of the global investment volume (particularly dominating the AI sector). In the Middle East, funding volumes for startups nearly doubled year-on-year, driven by multi-billion-dollar tech projects from Gulf countries. Structural shifts are occurring in Europe, with Germany surpassing the UK for the first time in a decade in total venture deal volume, although Europe’s share of the global VC pie has declined. India and Southeast Asia are experiencing an investment boom fueled by foreign funds, while activity in China remains subdued due to internal restrictions. Other emerging markets are gradually reviving, attracting more capital beyond traditional tech hubs.
Startups in Russia and the CIS are also striving to keep pace with global trends: despite external constraints, new funds and support programs for the tech sector are emerging in the region.
Below are the key events and trends shaping the venture market agenda as of September 17, 2025:
- Return of Mega-Funds and Major Investors. Leading venture players are raising record-sized funds and increasing investments, refueling the market with capital and rekindling risk appetite.
- Record Financing Rounds and a New Wave of “Unicorns.” Exceptionally large deals are driving valuations of startups to unprecedented heights, especially in the segments of artificial intelligence and robotics.
- Revival of the IPO Market. A series of successful public listings by technology companies signals an opening ‘window’ for exits 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 exit opportunities and accelerated growth for companies.
- Renaissance of the Crypto Industry. A rally in the digital asset market has rekindled investor interest in blockchain projects, sparking new large financing rounds and even public offerings in the crypto sector.
- Boom in Defense and Space Investments. Geopolitical factors are stimulating capital inflows into defense tech and space projects, making these sectors a new priority for venture funds.
- Local Initiatives in Russia and the CIS. New funds and legislative measures to support startups are being launched in the region, and local projects are beginning to attract foreign capital while integrating into global trends.
Return of Mega-Funds: Large Capital Back in the Market
The largest investment structures are once again entering the venture arena, signaling a new uptick in risk appetite. The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has announced the launch of its third Vision Fund, amounting to ~$40 billion, focusing on advanced technologies (with an emphasis on AI and robotics) after a lengthy hiatus. Sovereign funds from Gulf countries are also becoming more active: petrodollars are being channeled into tech initiatives and national mega-projects, creating their own tech hubs in the Middle East. Simultaneously, dozens of new venture funds are being established worldwide, attracting considerable institutional capital for high-tech investments.
- Veritas Capital Fund IX — $14.4 billion. An American fund specializing in technology and defense has closed a new fund at a record amount, demonstrating a high level of trust from large institutional investors.
Notably, venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is also aiming for its own mega-fund of up to $20 billion, entirely dedicated to investments in the AI sector — if successful, this will become the firm's largest fund in history. The massive influx of capital from such “mega-funds” is leading to an increase in the volume of uninvested funds (“dry powder”) in the market. This capital surplus intensifies competition for top startups and supports high valuations for promising companies. The mere presence of large institutional players bolsters confidence that the inflow of funds into the sector will continue.
Mega Rounds in AI and a New Wave of “Unicorns”
The field of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies remains the main driver of the venture boom, demonstrating record financing volumes. Investors are eager to establish themselves among the leaders of the new tech cycle, directing colossal sums to the most promising projects. In recent weeks, two record rounds have confirmed this trend:
- OpenAI (USA) — $8.3 billion. The developer of cutting-edge AI technologies raised one of the largest rounds in history, lifting its valuation to approximately $300 billion. Together with Microsoft, the company is carving out a separate business division and preparing it for an IPO to accelerate the commercialization of its products.
- Mistral AI (France) — €1.7 billion. This generative AI startup received the largest funding in Europe's history, increasing its valuation to €11.7 billion. The leading investor was the Dutch corporation ASML, highlighting Europe’s commitment to developing its own AI infrastructure.
These mega rounds are creating a generation of new “unicorns” and bringing us closer to the emergence of the tech leaders of the future. Despite warnings of potential market overheating, investors remain undeterred in their interest in the most cutting-edge projects. Furthermore, financing is going not only into applied AI products but also infrastructure solutions — from specialized chips to cloud platforms and data storage systems needed for scaling the AI ecosystem.
IPO Market Revives: Window for Exits is Open
After the downturn in 2022-2023, the IPO market is showing signs of life once again. The successful public offerings of several technology companies have demonstrated that investors are ready to buy shares of fast-growing startups at high valuations. This new wave of market debuts is bolstering venture funds' confidence in the possibility of profitable exits.
- Chime. A major American fintech unicorn (neobank) went public on Nasdaq in June; its share price increased by 30% on its first trading day, reaffirming strong demand for promising fintech companies.
- Klarna. The Swedish fintech giant successfully debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming one of the first European “unicorns” to list in the U.S. after a lengthy hiatus, with shares sold above the initial range.
The success of these IPOs indicates a return of liquidity to the venture market. Following these early successes, other major startups are preparing for their public offerings — from the American payment service Stripe (which, according to reports, has already submitted a confidential IPO application) to highly valued AI firms like Databricks. The revival of IPO activity is critically important for the entire ecosystem: successful exits allow investors to realize profits and redirect freed-up resources into new projects, fueling the next growth cycle.
Wave of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
High valuations of startups and intense competition for markets are catalyzing a new wave of consolidation. Major tech corporations are prepared to spend billions on strategic acquisitions to strengthen their positions and gain access to advanced developments. A number of high-profile M&A deals in recent months confirm this trend:
- Google → Wiz — ~$32 billion. Alphabet's corporation is acquiring the Israeli startup in the cloud cybersecurity space, aiming to bolster its position in data protection and cloud services.
- SoftBank → Ampere — ~$6.5 billion. The Japanese investment holding is purchasing the American developer of Arm processors, Ampere Computing, to join the ranks of leaders in the chip segment for cloud and corporate data centers.
The activation of acquisitions is reshaping the industry landscape. Mature startups are either merging with each other or becoming targets for corporations. For venture investors, this opens up opportunities for long-awaited exits through sales of portfolio companies to strategic players. Concurrently, consolidation eliminates excess participants from the market and allows resources to be focused on the most promising directions.
Renaissance of the Crypto Industry
In the second half of 2025, the digital asset market is experiencing a new boom, rekindling venture capital interest in crypto startups. Bitcoin has already surpassed the historic threshold of $120,000, setting a new all-time high. Just a year ago, the blockchain sector was experiencing a crisis of trust under strict regulatory pressure, but the current rally has radically changed investor sentiment.
Major funds that previously paused investments in crypto projects are once again entering the market. Large funding rounds are emerging, and some players are even going public. For example:
- Circle. A fintech company behind one of the leading stablecoins successfully conducted an IPO, becoming one of the first major “crypto-friendly” firms to go public.
- BlackRock. The investment giant launched an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to Bitcoin, marking an important signal of institutional recognition of crypto assets.
All these events demonstrate that the blockchain industry is once again being viewed by investors as a promising growth avenue.
Defense Technologies and Space at the Forefront
The geopolitical tensions of recent years have led to an unprecedented increase in investments in the defense and aerospace sectors. Estimates suggest that in Europe, the volume of venture investments in security and defense startups reached record levels (around $5.2 billion in 2024) and continues to grow in 2025, driven by rising military budgets. Venture investors are actively financing the development of drones, cybersecurity, military AI systems, as well as new space programs and satellite platforms.
The defense and space sectors are quickly becoming a new priority for venture funds. For instance, the American developer of autonomous systems Anduril secured about $2.5 billion, while the company Apex raised $200 million in a Series D round — these deals demonstrate the market's readiness to support projects from the “defense” sectors. Overall, investments in such projects promise not just commercial benefits but also strategic advantages, making them appealing even to relatively conservative investors.
Russia and the CIS: Local Trends Amidst the Global Market
Despite external constraints, the startup scene in Russia and neighboring countries is developing in parallel with global trends. In 2025, new sources of capital and initiatives to support tech entrepreneurship are emerging in the region:
- New Funds. In Russia, a private fund Nova VC (size of around 10 billion rubles) has been launched to invest in tech companies.
- International Success. Despite sanction barriers, teams from the CIS continue to attract financing abroad. For example, the voice technology service Vocal Image, a startup from Belarus based in Estonia, received ~$3.6 million from a French venture fund. This case proved that promising projects from the region can secure support on the global stage.
Although the total volume of venture investments in Russia and the CIS still lags behind the global leaders, the region is forming all the necessary elements of an ecosystem: local funds, accelerators, government programs, and international partnerships. These efforts are laying the groundwork for the emergence of competitive startups even in challenging external conditions.
