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Global Venture Capital Outlook: The Latest Trends
Global funding inches upwards, but dealmaking remains selective.
Global investments ticked up in the first quarter of the year, reaching $131 billion. The US continued to account for the largest share of funding due to mega-rounds by OpenAI and Anthropic. Meanwhile, China saw another quarter of declining investment amid geopolitical tensions.
Average deal sizes jumped across all funding stages in early 2025, fueled by a surge in generative AI and biotech investments. Mega-rounds in generative AI and data centers pushed the late-stage deal size to a hefty overall average of $270 million. At the seed stage, the combined pull of AI, cybersecurity, and biotech lifted deal sizes above the overall average of $3.4 million.
Corporate- and corporate venture capital (CVC)-backed activity, however, continued to cool. The number of deals declined again in the first quarter of 2025, reflecting a more cautious stance among corporate investors. Still, the share of corporate- and CVC-backed funding climbed to a four-year high, accounting for 47% of all deal value, primarily due to interest in generative AI.
AI still dominates venture capital activity. Foundation model developers continued to capture the lion’s share of generative AI investment, led by OpenAI. But companies building industry-tailored AI applications saw the highest deal count growth, showing that specific applications for healthcare, manufacturing, legal services, and more are gaining real traction with investors.
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First published in Mai 2025