$320 billion deployed. 65% in AI. 859 unicorns waiting. The 2025 venture market was two markets stacked on top of each other.
Investing Capital
US venture deployed $320 billion across 15,352 deals in 2025 — but the headline number describes two markets stacked on top of each other.
US VC Deal Flow by Year
Deal count was basically flat — up less than 1%. The entire surge came from bigger checks with the top five companies (OpenAI, CoreWeave, xAI, Anthropic, and Databricks) raising nearly $60 billion collectively.
AI Is Eating Venture Capital
AI's share of VC deal value has gone from 10% to 65% in a decade. In 2025, AI companies captured $222B — more than the entire US VC market deployed as recently as 2020.
2025 US VC Deal Value by Sector ($B)
Software ($166.6B) dominates because most AI companies are classified as software. Strip the AI mega-rounds and life sciences' share returns to roughly 20%, right in line with its historical average.
2025 US VC Deals by Stage
Round labels are increasingly meaningless. In 2025, 14 seed or pre-seed deals exceeded $100 million. The median seed pre-money valuation hit $16 million, up 78% from the 2021 peak.
US VC Mega-Deals ($100M+) by Year
Top 10 VC-Backed IPOs of 2025
| Company | Sector | Exit Value |
|---|---|---|
| CoreWeave | AI/Cloud | $17.1B |
| Figma | Design Software | $15.7B |
| Chime | FinTech | $9.1B |
| BETA Technologies | Electric Aviation | $6.6B |
| Circle | Crypto | $6.4B |
| Netskope | Cybersecurity | $6.4B |
| Firefly Aerospace | Space Tech | $5.6B |
| Navan | AI/Travel | $5.5B |
| Figure Technology | AI/FinTech | $4.6B |
| Via Transportation | AI/Transportation | $3.3B |
49 VC-backed IPOs generated $105.2B in exit value. The median IPO pre-money valuation hit a record $1.05 billion. The return multiple hit 8.16x. But 67% of unicorn IPOs were priced below their last private valuation.
Investment by State
California captured $191.2 billion — roughly 60% of all US venture capital — driven almost entirely by AI. The top three states accounted for nearly 75% of all dollars invested.
Fundraising & Exits
The liquidity crisis is the thread connecting every section of this yearbook.
US VC Exit Value by Year ($B)
Unicorn Backlog: Count & Aggregate Valuation
US VC Fundraising by Year
Two Markets, One Headline
The 2025 venture market is really two markets. One is the AI market — roughly $220 billion, dominated by a small number of very large rounds, fueled by corporate strategics and sovereign wealth funds. The other is everything else — roughly $100 billion, spread across a variety of sectors, operating at levels that look like a normal, healthy venture year. The confusion comes from adding them together.
2025 Policy Landscape
The most capital-formation-friendly SEC policy environment since the JOBS Act, combined with rising national security restrictions on cross-border capital flows.
OBBBA Tax Wins
Permanent R&D expensing restored. QSBS cap raised to $75M with phased exclusion. Carried interest preserved.
AI Regulation
Federal push for innovation-first approach meets state-level resistance. California signs landmark AI transparency bill SB 54.
Foreign Investment
COINS Act expands outbound investment restrictions. CFIUS reform tightens scrutiny on adversary-linked capital.
SEC Reform
Chairman Atkins withdrew 14 pending rulemakings. Eased 506(c) verification. Most capital-formation-friendly SEC since JOBS Act.
Energy & Data Centers
AI Action Plan expedites data center permitting. States compete for $100B+ in projected annual data center capex through 2028.
Digital Assets
GENIUS Act creates first federal stablecoin framework. SEC establishes Crypto Task Force under Commissioner Peirce.
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