- Global venture capital investment reached $101.05 billion across 7,356 deals in Q2’25, down from $128.4 billion across 9,314 deals in Q1’25.
- The drop can partly be attributed to a $40 billion outlier raise by OpenAI in the previous quarter.
- The primary focus for VC investors remained on large-scale opportunities, particularly in the AI and defencetech sectors.
- The largest deal of the quarter was a $14.3 billion transaction by US-based Scale AI, highlighting the continued momentum in the AI sector.
Regional Highlights:
- The Americas led global VC investment, attracting $72.7 billion—over 70% of total funding in Q2’25. The US alone accounted for over $70 billion of this amount.
- Europe attracted $14.6 billion across 1,733 deals. Notable raises included Germany-based Helsing ($682 million) and Portugal-based Tekever ($500 million).
- Asia continued to lag with $12.8 billion across 2,022 deals. Major deals included China-based Zelos Tech ($300 million) and India-based PB Healthcare ($218 million).
Sector Performance:
- Software remained the top sector for VC investment, attracting $116.1 billion by the end of Q2’25.
- Fintech also saw renewed interest with significant raises, including US-based Plaid ($575 million) and UK-based XY Miners ($300 million).
- Several high-value deals in defencetech were noted, such as Germany-based Helsing and Portugal-based Tekever.
Despite geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainties, venture capital investment remains robust, particularly in sectors driving long-term technological transformation.
Looking forward, the VC landscape in Q3’25 is expected to be influenced by ongoing geopolitical and economic factors. However, the momentum in key sectors like AI, defencetech, and fintech suggests a continued strong performance in these areas.
U.S. artificial intelligence startups have seen a significant rise in funding during the first half of 2025, while traditional venture capital funds are experiencing difficulties in raising new capital.
By the numbers:
- Investments in AI-driven companies now account for 64.1% of the total deal value so far this year.
- Fundraising for VC firms has declined by 33.7% year-over-year, and many are encountering longer timelines to close new funds.
- Exit activity has risen by 40%, fueling optimism for initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions in the latter half of the year.
For what might be expected to be a sleepy week in mid-July, this turned out to be a fairly active period for venture dealmaking.
The details:
- Hadrian, a developer of AI-enabled factories for aerospace and defense manufacturing, raised $260 million in a Series C round.
- OpenEvidence, a medical search and AI application for U.S. clinical healthcare providers, closed on $210 million in Series B funding.
- Substack, the subscription-based publishing platform for independent writers, raised $100 million in Series C funding.
- AI search startup Perplexity has raised another $100 million at an $18 billion-plus valuation.
Other notable funding rounds include Boulevard ($80M), Bedrock Robotics ($80M), CertifID ($47.5M), Firestorm ($47M), Unify ($40M), and Panacea Financial ($37M).