October 15, 2025
Global VC investment remains strong, driven by AI and supported by increasing exit activity
Global venture capital (VC) investment rose from $112 billion in Q2’25 to $120 billion in Q3’25 — marking the fourth consecutive quarter of robust investment, according to the latest edition of Venture Pulse from KPMG Private Enterprise, a quarterly report tracking investment trends globally across major regions around the world.
The Americas led with $85.1 billion, while Asia saw muted investment at $16.8 billion. AI continued to dominate VC activity, with significant funding rounds for AI model development and applications. The US accounted for most of the VC investment in the Americas, while Europe saw solid growth. Global exit value climbed to $149.9 billion, the highest since Q4’21, driven by renewed IPO activity. Looking ahead to Q4’25, global VC investment is expected to remain stable, with AI continuing to dominate. Robotics and defensetech will also continue to be focus areas.
The last time the global VC market saw $100 billion+ in investment for four quarters in a row was between Q4’21 and Q3’22. While overall deal volume eased slightly — reflecting a typical seasonal slowdown across the Americas and Europe — the broader market trajectory remained positive. Investor sentiment strengthened steadily throughout the quarter, buoyed by renewed optimism around liquidity pathways and a gradual reopening of exit markets in the Americas and Asia.
During Q3’25, the focus of VC investors globally concentrated on large deals — with 10 megadeals valued at $1 billion or more. Eight of these deals occurred in the US, led by raises by Anthropic AI’s of $13billion and xAI’s $10 billion.
AI continued to dominate VC investment activity in other regions as well in Q3’25. In Europe, France-based Mistral raised $1.5 billion and UK-based Nscale raised $1.5 billion. In Asia, Australia-based Firmus raised A$330 million ($220 million), while China-based MiniMaxAI raised $300 million and South Korea-based Rebellions raised $244 million. In addition to startups engaged in foundational AI model development, venture capital investors worldwide demonstrated increasing interest in AI-powered applications and sector-specific innovations. Beyond AI, defense technology and space technology garnered significant attention during the quarter, largely due to persistent geopolitical tensions. Health technology, quantum computing, and alternative energy also maintained strong investor interest throughout Q3’25.
Regionally, the Americas led global VC investment, attracting $85.1 billion across 3,474 deals in Q3’25—more than 70% of the total funding seen globally during the quarter. Within the Americas, the United States accounted for $80.9 billion across 3,175 deals. Europe attracted the second-largest share of VC funding during the quarter—$17.4 billion across 1,625 deals—overtaking Asia, where VC investment remained somewhat sluggish at $16.8 billion across 2,310 deals.