Summary

  • Global venture capital (VC) deals fell in Q1 2025 compared with the same period a year ago, according to data from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association.
  • There were 3,155 deals in North America, 1,852 in Europe, 2,063 in Asia, 156 in Latin America, and 325 in the rest of the world in Q1; these figures represented declines of 26%, 30%, 13%, 50%, and 43% respectively from the same period a year ago. -Total capital invested rose sharply, driven by large B2B rounds; overall, VC-backed exit activity lagged, with deal values totalling $78.2bn.
  • In the US, AI captured 48.5% of all investment, led by OpenAI’s 10bn of new commitments.
  • In Asia, the picture was subdued due to geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty, with the number of deals down but capital invested up, helped by a $2bn raise for Binance; VC exits were at their lowest since 2019.
  • In Europe, VC deal value slowed, but sectors such as AI, life sciences and fintech were resilient;

By Dean Takahashi

Original Article