Startup and Venture Capital News for Tuesday, December 23, 2025. Major AI Rounds, IPO Comeback, Venture Fund Activity, and Key Global Market Trends.
By the end of 2025, the global venture capital market is confidently trending towards growth, overcoming the impacts of the downturn in recent years. Investors worldwide are once again actively funding technology startups: deals worth hundreds of millions and billions of dollars are being struck, and the IPO plans of promising companies are back in the spotlight. Major venture funds and corporations are resuming large-scale investment programmes, while governments in various countries are ramping up support for innovative businesses. The influx of private capital is providing young companies with sufficient liquidity for growth and scaling, signalling the end of the prolonged "venture winter."
Venture activity is currently spanning all regions of the world. The United States remains in the lead, primarily due to colossal investments in the field of artificial intelligence. In the Middle East, the volume of investment in startups has multiplied thanks to generous funding from sovereign wealth funds. In Europe, there is a shift in power dynamics: Germany has overtaken the United Kingdom in total venture deal volume for the first time in a decade, strengthening the position of continental hubs. In Asia, growth is shifting from China to India and Southeast Asia—these markets are attracting record capital, while the Chinese market has cooled somewhat due to regulatory risks. Africa and Latin America are actively developing their technology ecosystems, with the first unicorn companies emerging in these regions, highlighting the truly global nature of the current venture upturn. The startup scenes in Russia and the CIS are also striving to keep pace, despite external restrictions. A new global venture boom is forming: private capital has returned to the market, although investors are still approaching deals with caution and prudence.
- The Return of Mega Funds and Major Investors. Leading venture players are raising record funds and flooding the market with capital again, rekindling risk appetite.
- Record Rounds in AI and New Unicorns. Unprecedented investments in artificial intelligence are reaching unseen heights, creating a wave of new unicorn companies.
- Revival of the IPO Market. Successful public offerings of technology companies and an increase in listing applications indicate that the long-awaited "window of opportunity" for exits has reopened.
- Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI. Venture capital is being directed not only to AI but also to fintech, climate projects, biotech, defense technologies, and other sectors, broadening market horizons.
- A Wave of Consolidation and M&A Deals. Major mergers, acquisitions, and strategic alliances are reshaping the industry landscape, creating new exit opportunities and accelerating company growth.
- Renewed Interest in Crypto Startups. After a prolonged "crypto winter", blockchain projects are attracting significant funding again amid the growing market for digital assets and easing regulation.
- Global Expansion of Venture Capital. The investment boom is reaching new regions—from Gulf countries and South Asia to Africa and Latin America—forming local tech hubs worldwide.
- Local Focus: Russia and the CIS. New funds and initiatives to develop local startup ecosystems are being launched in the region, gradually increasing investor interest in local projects.
The Return of Mega Funds: Big Money Back in the Market
The largest investment players are triumphantly returning to the venture arena, marking a new surge in risk appetite. After several years of lull, leading funds have resumed raising record capital and are launching mega-pools, demonstrating confidence in market potential. For instance, Japan's SoftBank is forming its third Vision Fund with approximately $40 billion focused on advanced technologies (primarily in AI and robotics). Investment firms that had previously taken a pause are also stepping back into the ring: Tiger Global has announced a new fund of $2.2 billion—smaller than its prior giant pools but with a more selective strategy. One of Silicon Valley's oldest players has made headlines: in December, Lightspeed Venture Partners attracted a record $9 billion for new funds aimed at investing in large-scale projects (primarily in AI).
Sovereign funds in the Middle East are also becoming active: governments of oil-exporting countries are pouring billions into innovation programmes, creating powerful regional tech hubs. Moreover, dozens of new venture funds are popping up around the world, attracting significant institutional capital for investments in high-tech companies. The largest Silicon Valley and Wall Street funds have amassed unprecedented reserves of uninvested capital ("dry powder"): hundreds of billions of dollars are ready to flow as the market revitalizes. The influx of this "big money" is already palpable: the ecosystem is filling with liquidity, competition for the best deals is intensifying, and the industry is gaining a much-needed boost of confidence. It's worth highlighting government involvement: for example, the German government launched the Deutschlandfonds, with €30 billion aimed at attracting private capital for technology projects and modernizing the economy, underscoring the authorities' commitment to supporting the venture market.
Record Investments in AI: A New Wave of Unicorns
The artificial intelligence sector remains the primary engine of the current venture upturn, showcasing record funding volumes. Investors worldwide are eager to secure their positions among AI market leaders, directing colossal funds to the most promising projects. In recent months, several AI companies have attracted unprecedented large rounds: for instance, language model developer Anthropic secured about $13 billion in investments, Elon Musk's xAI raised around $10 billion, and a lesser-known AI infrastructure startup managed to attract over $2 billion, raising its valuation to about $30 billion. Particular attention is focused on OpenAI: a series of mega-deals throughout the year has skyrocketed the company's valuation to an astronomical ~$500 billion, making it the most valuable private startup in history. SoftBank led a round of funding for OpenAI amounting to ~$40 billion (valuing the company at around $300 billion), and it has been reported that Amazon is ready to invest up to $10 billion. Currently, SoftBank is working to close its portion of the deal (~$22.5 billion) before the end of the year—such a move will further strengthen OpenAI's position at the top of the market and highlight SoftBank's role as a key player in the AI industry.
Such gigantic deals confirm the excitement surrounding AI technologies and inflate company valuations to unprecedented heights, spawning dozens of new unicorns. Moreover, venture investments are being directed not only towards applied AI services but also towards critical infrastructure for them. "Smart money" is even flowing into the so-called "shovels and picks" of the digital gold rush—from the production of specialized chips and cloud platforms to tools for optimizing data centre energy consumption. All this indicates that the race for leadership in AI is being fought on all fronts, and access to capital and technologies is becoming a decisive factor of success.
Revival of the IPO Market: Window for Exits Open
After a lengthy pause, the market for initial public offerings is being revived. In 2025, the number of tech IPOs in the US increased by more than 60% compared to the previous year. In recent weeks, several major companies have successfully debuted on the market, clearly demonstrating that the "window of opportunity" for venture investors has indeed opened. In Hong Kong, a series of high-profile listings took place: several tech companies went public, collectively raising billions of dollars. For example, Chinese battery manufacturer CATL raised approximately $5 billion during its IPO, showcasing that investors in the region are again willing to actively participate in public deals.
The situation in the US and Europe has also noticeably improved. A number of highly rated startups successfully conducted IPOs, confirming the recovery of appetite for new issuers. For instance, fintech unicorn Chime saw its stock price rise by about 30% on its first trading day following its IPO, while design platform Figma raised approximately $1.2 billion at its listing (with a valuation around $15-20 billion), and its value steadily increased in the initial days of trading. The successes of such companies are restoring faith in the possibility of profitable exits and encouraging other unicorns to enter the market.
Exciting IPOs are on the horizon. Noteworthy mentions for anticipated IPOs include payment giant Stripe and several other large startups eager to take advantage of the favourable market conditions. SpaceX is also capturing special attention: Elon Musk's space company has officially confirmed plans for a major IPO in 2026, aiming to raise over $25 billion—this could become one of the largest listings in history. Even the crypto industry has not been left behind: the stablecoin issuer Circle successfully went public over the summer (after which its stock prices rose), while the cryptocurrency exchange Bullish has filed for a listing in the US with a target valuation of around $4 billion. The resurgence of activity in the IPO market is crucial for the entire startup ecosystem: successful public exits allow funds to realize profits and redirect the freed capital into new projects, completing the venture funding cycle and supporting further growth in the industry.
Diversification of Investments: Not Just AI
In 2025, venture investments are covering an increasingly broad range of sectors and are no longer limited to just artificial intelligence. After the downturn of recent years, fintech is reviving: significant funding rounds are occurring in both the US and Europe as well as in emerging markets, spurring the emergence of new digital financial services. At the same time, there is a growing interest in climate technologies and "green" energy—projects in renewable energy, eco-friendly materials, and agritech are attracting record investments in the wake of the global sustainable development trend.
An appetite for biotechnology is also returning. The emergence of breakthrough developments in medicine and the recovery of valuations in the digital health sector are again attracting capital, reviving interest in biotech. Additionally, heightened attention to security is driving funding towards defense tech projects—from sophisticated drones to cybersecurity systems. The partial stabilization of the digital asset market and regulatory easing in several countries have also allowed blockchain startups to begin attracting capital again. This expansion of sectoral focus makes the entire startup ecosystem more resilient and reduces the risk of overheating in individual segments of the economy.
Mergers and Acquisitions: New Wave of Consolidation
Major mergers and acquisitions are coming to the forefront, along with strategic alliances between technology companies. High valuations of startups and fierce competition for markets have led to a new wave of consolidation. Major players are actively eyeing promising assets: for instance, Google has agreed to acquire Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz for approximately $32 billion—an unprecedented amount for the Israeli tech sector. Reports are also circulating about other IT giants ready for significant acquisitions: for instance, Intel is reportedly negotiating to acquire AI chipmaker SambaNova for around $1.6 billion (this startup was valued at $5 billion back in 2021).
The new wave of acquisitions showcases large companies’ desire to secure key technologies and talented teams. Overall, the surge in M&A activity presents venture investors with much-anticipated opportunities for profitable exits. In 2025, there has been a noticeable uptick in mergers and acquisitions across various segments: more mature startups are merging with each other or becoming targets for corporations, reshaping the balance of power in the markets. Such steps help companies accelerate their development by combining resources and audiences, while investors benefit from improved investment returns through successful exits. Thus, M&A deals are once again becoming a crucial exit mechanism alongside IPOs.
Renewed Interest in Crypto Startups: The Market Thaws
After a prolonged "crypto winter", the blockchain startup segment is starting to awaken. Gradual stabilization and growth in the digital asset market (Bitcoin surpassed the historic threshold of $100,000 this year and is currently consolidating around the $90,000 mark) have reignited investor interest in crypto projects. Additional impetus has come from relative regulatory liberalization: in several countries, authorities have eased their approach to the crypto industry, establishing clearer "rules of the game". As a result, in the second half of 2025, several blockchain companies and crypto fintech startups managed to attract significant funding—sending a signal that after years of stagnation, investors are once again seeing prospects in the sector.
The return of crypto investments is broadening the overall landscape of tech financing, adding back a segment that has long been in the shadows. Now, alongside AI, fintech, or biotech, venture capital is again actively exploring the sphere of crypto technologies. This trend is opening up new avenues for innovation and profitability beyond mainstream directions, enriching the overall picture of global technological development.
Global Expansion of Venture Capital: Boom Reaches New Regions
The geography of venture investments is rapidly expanding. In addition to traditional tech hubs (the US, Europe, China), the investment boom is beginning to capture new markets around the world. Gulf countries (notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE) are investing billions in creating local tech parks and startup ecosystems in the Middle East. India and Southeast Asia are experiencing a true blossoming of the startup scene, attracting record volumes of venture capital and spawning new unicorns. Rapidly growing tech companies are also emerging in Africa and Latin America—for the first time, some are reaching valuations of over $1 billion, cementing these regions' status as full-fledged players in the global market. For example, in Mexico, the fintech platform Plata recently raised around $500 million (the largest private deal in the history of Mexican fintech) ahead of launching its own digital bank—this clearly demonstrates the growing investor interest in promising markets.
Thus, venture capital has become more global than ever. Promising projects can now secure financing regardless of geography, provided they demonstrate the potential for scaling their business. For investors, this opens up new horizons: they can seek high-return opportunities worldwide while diversifying risks among different countries and regions. The spread of the venture boom into new territories also fosters the exchange of experience and talent, making the global startup ecosystem more interconnected and dynamic.
Russia and the CIS: Local Initiatives Amid Global Trends
Despite external sanctions pressure, startup activity is gradually reviving in Russia and neighboring countries. In 2025, several new venture funds with a total volume of several tens of billions of rubles aimed at supporting early-stage tech projects were announced. Large corporations are creating their own accelerators and corporate venture divisions, while state programmes are assisting startups in securing grants and investments. For example, more than 1 billion rubles in investments have been attracted for local tech projects as a result of the Moscow “Innovators Academy” programme.
While the scale of venture deals in the region still lags behind global figures, it is steadily increasing. The easing of certain restrictions has opened opportunities for capital inflows from "friendly" countries, partially compensating for the outflow of Western investments. Some tech companies are seriously considering taking their divisions public as the market sentiment improves: for instance, VK Tech's management (a subsidiary of VK) recently mentioned the possibility of an IPO in the foreseeable future. New government support measures and corporate initiatives are designed to give an additional boost to the local startup ecosystem, linking its development with global trends.
Conclusion: Cautious Optimism on the Threshold of 2026
By the end of 2025, moderately optimistic sentiments have firmly established themselves in the venture industry. Record funding rounds and successful IPOs have clearly demonstrated that the downturn period is behind us. Nevertheless, market participants continue to exhibit caution. Investors are paying increased attention to project quality and the sustainability of business models, striving to avoid unwarranted hype. The focus of the new surge in venture investments is not on the race for inflated valuations but on the search for truly promising ideas that can generate profit and transform entire industries.
Even the largest funds are calling for a measured approach. Many participants note that valuations of certain startups remain very high and are not always supported by strong business metrics. Aware of the risk of overheating (especially in the AI segment), the venture community intends to proceed thoughtfully, combining bold investments with thorough "homework" on market and product analysis. Therefore, at the threshold of 2026, the industry welcomes the new year with cautious optimism, aiming for sustainable growth without repeating prior excesses.
