Key Takeaways
- 2025 saw a recovery in venture capital funding, but it was concentrated in the AI sector (48% of funding).
- Mega-rounds rose significantly in 2025 (65% of total funding) at the same time as overall deal count fell.
- Robotics companies saw a record year in 2025 ($40.7B in funding), with humanoid robotics companies dominating investor interest.
2025 was a year of much anticipated recovery for venture capital (VC) investment, defined by resilience, innovation, and strategic recalibration. While it might not have been a broad-based recovery, certain sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI) saw tremendous gains, and that growth is poised to continue into 2026. According to the 2025 State of Venture Report from CB Insights, global venture funding was up 47% last year, coming in at $469 billion. And Q4 of 2025 saw $152 billion in funding, the best quarter since Q1 2022.
Below we look at some of the other key takeaways from the CB Insights report, and what to expect as we move further into 2026.
- While overall deal count fell 17%, mega-rounds were on the rise, up 77% and accounting for 65% of total funding last year. So, while we saw fewer deals, the average deal size was much larger, fueled by massive investments in AI companies. This trend is expected to continue into 2026.
- In 2025, AI companies were again the darling of VC investors, bringing in 48% of total funding, the largest share for AI companies so far. Traditional VCs and crossover investors are both targeting AI investment, and according to CB Insights, at this rate, AI companies could account for over half of VC funding in 2026.
- Unicorns also made a comeback after slow growth for the past few years. The AI sector drove this growth in new unicorns as more than half of new unicorns created were from the AI sector.
- Robotics companies benefited greatly from the AI investment boom, raising a record $40.7 billion last year (9% of total funding). Humanoid robotics companies were the biggest winner here, with 80 deals. AI model developers also drew significant interest from investors.
- CB Insights data shows that physical AI companies (technology that can operate in the real world) hold 4 of the top 10 highest momentum markets. This is the next frontier and a subsector to closely watch this year.
- Additional sectors identified by CB Insights as showing strong funding momentum going into 2026 include fintech (+35% YoY), retail tech (+8% YoY), digital health (+18% YoY), advanced manufacturing tech (+33% YoY), defense tech (+128% YoY), aerospace tech (+83% YoY), and quantum tech (+211% YoY).
Several themes that defined venture capital investment in 2025 are set to carry into the year ahead. Investors remain heavily focused on AI, exit activity is accelerating through increased mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and a reopening IPO market, and valuations continue to climb. While forecasts are always subject to variables such as regulatory developments, economic conditions, and geopolitical events, the overall indicators suggest that the momentum established in 2025 will not only persist into 2026, but potentially strengthen.