The Global Venture Market is Recovering: Major AI Deals, New IPOs, Growth of Venture Hubs, and Increased Investor Activity in the US, Europe, and Asia. A Detailed Overview of Trends as of November 5, 2025.
As we approach November 2025, the global venture market is confidently recovering from the prolonged downturn of recent years. Investors around the world are once again actively funding technology startups—record deals are being made, and companies’ IPO plans are coming back into focus. Major players are re-entering the market with large investments, governments are ramping up support for innovation, and private venture capital is once again flowing into the startup ecosystem.
The increase in venture activity is evident across all regions. The United States continues to lead (especially in the field of artificial intelligence, which accounts for the lion's share of new investments), but other parts of the world are gaining momentum. In the Middle East, investment volumes have nearly doubled within a year, with sovereign funds supporting the establishment of their own tech hubs. Europe demonstrates stability: for the first time, Germany outpaces the UK in the number of venture deals, with early-stage funding particularly buoyant. In Asia, the picture is mixed: China shows signs of revival after a weak period, although its activity still lags behind peak levels of 2021-2022; at the same time, India and Southeast Asia attract record capital amid a relative downturn in China. The startup ecosystems in Russia and other CIS countries are also trying to keep pace despite external constraints. A new venture surge is forming, although investors remain selective and cautious.
Below are the key events and trends shaping the agenda of the venture market as of November 5, 2025:
- Inflow of capital and the return of megadeals. Leading venture funds are raising record amounts, and the largest investors are actively pouring capital into the market, reigniting risk appetite.
- Extraordinary growth in AI investments and a new wave of "unicorns." Massive funding rounds are driving startup valuations to new heights, primarily in the artificial intelligence sector, giving rise to a plethora of new "unicorns."
- The return of the IPO market. Successful public offerings of technology companies confirm that the long-awaited "window" for exits has reopened, restoring liquidity to the venture market.
- Expansion of industry focus. Venture capital is being directed not only into AI but also into fintech, climate and "green" projects, biotechnology, defense development, and even recovering crypto startups.
- A wave of consolidation: mergers and acquisitions (M&A). New activity in the M&A space is reshaping the industry landscape, creating opportunities for exits and accelerated growth for the strongest players.
- Regional growth: new venture hubs. The Middle East, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and other regions are strengthening their positions on the global venture map, attracting record capital amid a slowdown in China.
- Russia and the CIS: local initiatives. Despite restrictions, new funds and programs to support startups are emerging in the region, aimed at developing local ecosystems and attracting investor attention.
The Return of Megafunds: Big Money Back in the Market
The largest investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture scene—indicative of a new surge in risk appetite. The Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, for instance, is setting up a new Vision Fund III with a target size of approximately $40 billion, focused on cutting-edge technologies. Sovereign funds from Gulf countries have also ramped up activity: they are funneling billions of dollars into technology projects and rolling out government megaprograms to support startups, forming their own tech hubs in the Middle East. Meanwhile, dozens of new venture funds are being established worldwide, attracting significant institutional capital to invest in high-tech sectors.
Renowned Silicon Valley venture firms are also increasing their presence. They hold record reserves of uninvested capital ("dry powder")—hundreds of billions of dollars ready to be deployed as confidence returns to the market. This influx of "big money" fills the startup market with liquidity, providing resources for new funding rounds and supporting the valuations of promising companies. The return of megafunds and large investors intensifies competition for the best deals while simultaneously instilling confidence that the capital inflow into the market will continue.
Record AI Investments: A New Wave of "Unicorns"
The field of artificial intelligence is the primary driver of the current venture upswing, demonstrating unprecedented levels of funding. Investors are eager to position themselves among the leaders in the AI market, directing colossal amounts towards the most promising projects. Just in recent weeks, several megaraise announcements have been made: the American startup Crusoe (infrastructure for AI data centers) attracted ~$1.4 billion at a valuation of about $10 billion; significant investments were also secured by foundational AI model developers Anthropic (~$13 billion raised) and xAI (~$5.3 billion). Such deals are soaring to unseen heights, underscoring the hype surrounding AI startups and giving rise to a new wave of unicorn companies. Market estimates indicate that nearly half of all venture investments globally in the third quarter of 2025 were directed towards AI companies.
Moreover, venture capital is flowing not only into applied AI products but also into the infrastructure for them—the market is ready to finance even the "shovels and pickaxes" for this new technological gold rush. Experts warn of the risks of overheating individual projects, yet the investor appetite for AI startups remains unshaken.
The IPO Market is Reviving: An Opportunity for Exits
The global primary public offerings market is emerging from a prolonged lull and is again gaining momentum. In Asia, Hong Kong began a new wave of IPOs: in recent months, several major technology companies have successfully gone public, collectively raising billions in investments. The situation is also improving in the US and Europe: several highly valued startups (such as fintech giant Chime and design platform Figma) have debuted on the stock market, demonstrating strong demand from investors and steady stock price growth. By the end of 2025, more unicorns are preparing for public offerings—among the most anticipated are the payment service Stripe and several large technology firms.
Even the crypto industry is keen to capitalize on the revival: the fintech company Circle successfully completed its IPO in the summer (its stock prices subsequently rose significantly), and the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish filed for a US listing with a target valuation of around $4 billion. The resurgence of activity in the IPO market is crucial for the venture ecosystem: successful public exits allow funds to realize profitable exits and redirect freed-up capital into new projects, supporting the further growth of the industry.
Expanding Industry Focus: Not Just AI
Venture investments in 2025 encompass a much broader range of industries and are no longer limited to the singular AI craze. The resurgence is evident in the fintech sector (large funding rounds are occurring worldwide), in climate and agritech (demand for "green" innovations is high), in biotech and medtech (new developments are receiving capital again), in defense projects (demand for dual-use technologies), and even in crypto startups (after market stabilization, select projects are attracting investments again). Such a broad focus makes the startup ecosystem more resilient and reduces the risk of overheating in individual segments.
Consolidation and M&A: Consolidation of Players
Inflated valuations of startups and fierce competition for markets are triggering a wave of consolidation. Major mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals are making a comeback, consolidating key players and reshaping the technological sector landscape. After a period of quietude in previous years, corporate giants and unicorns with substantial reserves are becoming more active in acquiring promising projects to strengthen their positions and gain access to new technologies.
In the third quarter of 2025, the volume of global M&A deals involving venture companies reached a multi-year high: nine startups were acquired for over $1 billion each. Among the most notable was Google’s acquisition of the Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for about $32 billion (the largest exit in the history of Israeli high-tech). Such megadeals reflect corporations' desire to acquire cutting-edge technologies and teams. The wave of consolidations provides investors with much-needed liquidity and allows successful players to scale their businesses, although the overall number of independent startups is decreasing. The uptick in M&A activity signals market maturation: mature projects either merge with one another or become acquisition targets for corporations, while venture funds gain much-awaited lucrative exits.
Regional Growth: New Venture Hubs
Venture activity is becoming increasingly global—new regional innovation centers are emerging. The Middle East has become one of the most dynamic markets: Gulf countries, which previously focused on investing abroad, are actively developing their own ecosystems. Technology parks and funds to support local startups are being launched, leading to record deals—some projects there are attracting hundreds of millions in funding. Simultaneously, activity is picking up in Asia outside of China. Southeast Asia (led by Singapore) has tripled its venture investments over the year thanks to several large funding rounds. While India has eased off a bit, it maintains a high level of funding, and significant investments have taken place in semiconductor and robotics startups in South Korea and Japan. Israel continues to hold its position as one of the world’s innovation hubs, although activity there is slightly below the peaks of 2021.
Europe, while trailing the U.S. in investment volume, demonstrates resilience and gradual growth. Venture financing for European startups rose sharply, particularly in early-stage deals. The geography of large funding rounds is expanding: besides London and Berlin, investors are increasingly finding promising projects in Paris, Stockholm, Tel Aviv, and other tech clusters. Several high-profile M&A deals in Europe have confirmed the maturity of local players. Latin America is also seeing renewed energy: for example, in Brazil, venture investments soared nearly 50% over the summer, positioning the country back at the forefront of the region. Thus, the global venture map continues to expand—capital is increasingly moving to new locations in search of talented teams and promising ideas.
Russia and the CIS: Local Initiatives
Despite external constraints, a revival in startup activity is observed in Russia and neighboring countries. The Russian venture market is beginning to emerge from its stagnation: the volume of investments in the first half of 2025 nearly doubled (to ~$87 million), the number of active investors has increased, and new funds of about 10 billion rubles each have emerged. Private and state players are filling the void left by departing foreign funds: domestic venture funds are being formed, and large corporations are launching accelerators and programs to support technology projects. Similar processes are occurring in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and other countries in the region. These initiatives inspire cautious optimism, although the scale of the venture market in the CIS still lags behind global leaders.
Cautious Optimism
The venture market is closing out 2025 on a high note, but the growth is occurring in a more measured way than in previous booms. Investors are paying closer attention to project quality and business model sustainability, avoiding excessive risk. It is expected that in 2026, venture investments will continue to grow at moderate rates, and the startup ecosystem will develop in a more balanced and rational manner.
