Global Startup and Venture Investment News for October 28, 2025. Mega-Rounds in AI, the Return of Mega Funds, IPO Growth, and New Funds. Trend Analysis for Venture Investors.
By the end of October 2025, the global venture market is showing steady growth after several years of decline. Investors around the world are once again actively investing in technology startups, with record deals being made and companies' IPO plans taking center stage. Major players are returning to the market with large-scale investments. Governments in various countries are increasing support for innovation, stimulating the inflow of private capital into startup ecosystems and providing a new impetus for industry development. According to industry analysts, the total volume of venture investments globally grew nearly 40% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2025, vividly illustrating a return of risk appetite.
Venture activity is increasing across all regions. The U.S. remains the leader (especially with explosive growth in the artificial intelligence sector); the Middle East has nearly doubled investments year-over-year; in Europe, shifts are occurring, with Germany surpassing the U.K. in venture financing for the first time in a decade. In Asia, despite regulatory uncertainty, activity in China continues to decline, while India, Southeast Asia, and Gulf countries are attracting record capital flows. Investment booms are extending to new horizons, with their own tech hubs forming in Africa and Latin America. The startup ecosystems in Russia and CIS countries are also striving to keep pace, despite external constraints. A global venture upswing is evident, although investors are still approaching deals selectively and carefully.
Below are key events and trends in the startup industry as of October 28, 2025:
- The return of mega funds and large investors. Leading venture funds are raising record-sized funds and sharply increasing investments, flooding the market with capital and reigniting risk appetite.
- Record investment rounds in AI and a new wave of “unicorns.” Extremely large investments in AI startups are driving company valuations to unprecedented heights, generating a new generation of unicorns.
- The IPO market is reviving. Successful public offerings of tech companies and new listing applications indicate that the long-awaited “window” for exits has reopened.
- A boom in defense technologies. Geopolitical circumstances are generating increased interest in defense and security startups, bringing them to the forefront of the venture agenda.
- Diversification of sector focus. Venture capital is being directed not only toward AI but also toward fintech, climate (“green”) projects, biotechnology, and even crypto startups.
- A wave of consolidation: M&A deals. Major mergers and acquisitions are reshaping the industry landscape and creating new opportunities for profitable exits and accelerated company growth.
- Local focus: Russia and CIS. New funds and programs are being launched in the region to develop local startup ecosystems, attracting attention from investors despite external constraints.
- Careful optimism among investors. The market is experiencing an upswing, but participants maintain a measured approach to startup valuations and avoid excessive risk.
The Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back on the Market
The largest investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture scene, marking a new phase of increased risk appetite. For instance, the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank has invested billions in a market-leading AI company, while American firm Andreessen Horowitz is aiming for a record fund of $10 billion for investments in AI and defense.
Sovereign wealth funds from wealthy Gulf countries have also significantly ramped up activity: they are pouring billions into technology projects and launching state mega-programs to support the startup sector, forming their own tech hubs in the Middle East. New venture funds are being established worldwide, attracting substantial institutional capital for investments in high-tech sectors.
Renowned Silicon Valley funds have amassed record reserves of uninvested capital (“dry powder”) — hundreds of billions of dollars are ready to be deployed once market confidence is restored. The influx of such “big money” intensifies competition for the best deals, while also instilling confidence in the industry about capital availability. The return of mega funds signifies that investors are once again willing to finance ambitious projects with large checks, revitalizing the growth dynamics of the venture market.
Record Investments in AI and New Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the primary driver of the current venture upturn, showcasing unprecedented financing volumes. Investors are eager to stake their claim among AI leaders, directing colossal funds into the most promising projects. Just in recent weeks, several mega-rounds have been announced: for example, American startup Crusoe, which is developing data center infrastructure for AI model operations, raised approximately $1.38 billion at a valuation of around $10 billion. Significant rounds have also been closed by developers of foundational AI models: Anthropic (totaling around $13 billion in investments) and xAI (~$5.3 billion). Such deals elevate company valuations to previously unseen heights and underscore the excitement surrounding AI startups.
Moreover, funding is not limited to applied AI products but extends to infrastructure solutions as well — the market is generously compensating even for the "shovels and pickaxes" of this new “gold rush” in AI. As a result, the current investment boom is birthing a whole slew of new unicorns (private companies valued over $1 billion). While some experts warn of the risks of overheating certain projects, the appetite for venture capital in AI startups remains extraordinarily high. Furthermore, capital in the market is concentrating around the largest rounds: according to Crunchbase, in 2025 about 70% of all investments in American startups were in deals of $100 million or more, while globally this figure reached approximately 60%. Investors are increasingly betting on a limited range of the most promising companies, preferring to allocate large sums to leaders with breakthrough technologies and scalable business models.
The IPO Market is Reviving: A Wave of Public Offerings
The global initial public offering (IPO) market is beginning to emerge from a prolonged lull and is regaining momentum. In Asia, Hong Kong has been at the forefront of a new wave of tech IPOs: in recent months, several major tech companies have successfully gone public, collectively raising billions in investments. The situation is also improving in the U.S. and Europe, where a number of highly valued startups have successfully debuted on the stock market, generating high interest from investors and confident growth in stock prices in the initial days of trading. Below are the largest venture IPOs from the third quarter of 2025:
- Chery Automobile — a Chinese automaker, which had one of the highest valuations at IPO this year.
- Figma — an American design platform, which launched shares with an estimated valuation of around $15–20 billion.
- Klarna — a Swedish fintech “unicorn” (buy now, pay later service), which successfully went public.
- Netskope — an American cybersecurity company, which completed its listing with a multi-billion dollar valuation.
Even the crypto industry is attempting to take advantage of the improved market conditions. Fintech company Circle successfully conducted its IPO last summer (its market capitalization increased significantly post-listing), and the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has applied for a listing in the U.S. with a target valuation of around $4 billion. The resurgence of activity in the IPO market is critically important for the venture ecosystem: successful public exits allow funds to secure profits, return capital to investors, and channel the freed-up funds into supporting new projects.
Defense Technology Boom: A New Priority for Investors
Against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions, the niche of defense and military technology startups is experiencing explosive growth. Venture investors are actively financing defense and security-related projects, leading to a substantial increase in investment volumes in this sector in 2025, nearing record levels from previous years. In Europe alone, analysts estimate that investments in defense and security startups will exceed $8 billion this year (up from approximately $5.4 billion in 2024). Startups developing defense technologies are emerging as a new growth point for the industry.
Ambitious new players are also emerging to challenge traditional defense giants. A notable example is the American startup Anduril, whose valuation is nearing $30 billion. Large venture funds are also directing significant resources toward national security projects, confirming the formation of a new priority for the industry. Despite existing barriers, investment in defense technologies is increasingly viewed as a promising and socially significant direction, supported by both private and public capital.
Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI
Despite the dominance of artificial intelligence on the agenda, venture investments are covering an increasingly broad range of industries and are no longer limited to just AI. Following last year's downturn, fintech is regaining traction: significant rounds are happening not just in the U.S. but also in Europe and developing markets, stimulating the growth of new digital financial services. At the same time, there has been a sharp increase in interest in climate and “green” technologies: renewable energy projects, sustainable solutions, and agri-tech are attracting record investments amidst the global trend of sustainability. Analysts estimate that in the first nine months of 2025, global climate startups raised over $56 billion in investments — more than during the entire year of 2024.
Investor appetite for biotechnology is also returning, particularly in pharmaceuticals and digital health: the emergence of promising developments and platforms is once again attracting capital, as the sector gradually emerges from a period of declining valuations. Additionally, amid increased attention to security, investors have begun to re-enter the defense-technology segment, and a partial recovery of confidence in the cryptocurrency market has allowed some blockchain projects to secure funding once again. Thus, the widening sector focus makes the entire startup ecosystem more resilient and reduces the risk of overheating in specific segments. Investors are ready to support not only AI projects but also fintech innovators, green startups, biotech, and other promising directions.
Market Consolidation and M&A Deals
High startup valuations and intense competition are fueling a wave of consolidation in the industry. Major mergers and acquisitions are once again taking center stage, redistributing roles in the market. Tech giants are closely watching the leaders among startups, eager to acquire key technologies and teams.
In recent months, several high-profile acquisitions have drawn industry attention. For instance, Google has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for around $32 billion — a record amount for the Israeli market. The trend of strategic purchases is also on the rise: in the first half of 2025, total startup acquisitions surpassed $100 billion (a 155% increase year-over-year), as large firms are willing to write large checks for promising assets, particularly in AI and corporate technology sectors.
Overall, the activation of M&A deals signifies the maturing of the ecosystem. Mature startups are either merging with each other or becoming targets for acquisition by corporations, providing venture investors with much-anticipated profitable exits and accelerating the scaling of innovations.
Russia and CIS: New Funds and Initiatives
Despite external constraints, a revival of startup activity and systematic work on local ecosystem development are being observed in Russia and neighboring countries. In 2025, several new venture funds have been announced:
- Nova Capital — a fund of 10 billion rubles for investments in early-stage IT startups.
- Kama Flow — a new fund of comparable size, focused on supporting later-stage projects.
- Corporate funds — several large corporations and banks are also forming their own venture units aimed at supporting domestic tech projects.
In addition to financing, accelerators, educational programs, and other initiatives aimed at supporting entrepreneurs are being launched in the region. Local startups are beginning to attract attention not only from Russian investors but also from foreign partners from friendly countries. Although the volumes of the venture market in Russia and CIS still lag behind global leaders, the region is striving to keep up with global trends. Investors here are acting selectively and focusing on niche areas where local teams have competitive advantages.
Cautious Optimism and New Opportunities
As 2026 approaches, the startup and venture investment industry is confidently entering a phase of revitalization. The global influx of capital, a wave of new unicorns, successful IPOs, and strategic deals indicate a restoration of confidence in the market. At the same time, participants in the ecosystem maintain a degree of prudence: investors are taking a more measured approach to evaluating projects, favoring startups with sustainable business models and realistic growth plans, while striving to avoid excessive risk.
Such a balanced approach instills measured optimism. The venture market is returning to growth on a more sustainable foundation, without overheating in specific segments. This opens up new opportunities for investors and founders worldwide — the market is developing qualitatively, creating a strong foundation for further expansion of the startup scene.
