Global enterprise capital shows signs of life in second quarter as AI deals dominate capital flow

The worldwide enterprise capital market clawed back some momentum within the second quarter of 2025, though structural weaknesses, especially in fundraising, continued to forged an extended shadow.

That’s in keeping with a primary take a look at the quarterly PitchBook-NVCA Enterprise Monitor report released early Thursday. The second quarter of 2025 saw $67.6 billion in exit value generated, the most important quarterly figure for the reason that slowdown in exits began and the second-highest figure since 2021, despite the fact that public listings remain on target for the fewest accomplished in any 12 months over the past decade.

The deal count within the U.S. within the quarter held regular from the primary quarter, however the deal value fell 25%, partly due to absence of OpenAI’s $40 billion round within the previous quarter, but in addition reflecting a broader tightening of capital. The one standout within the quarter was a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI Inc. by Meta Platforms Inc. in June, which, in keeping with PitchBook-NVCA, was the second-largest VC deal on record.

Big deals dominated the quarter, with the largest U.S. VC deals representing 39% of capital raised. As within the previous quarter, artificial intelligence deals dominated, with the second quarter seeing big rounds for corporations including Protected Superintelligence Inc., Grammarly Inc., Pondering Machine Lab Inc. and Anduril Industries Inc., which drove $24 billion in investment. AI alone has made up nearly two-thirds of total U.S. VC deal value up to now in 2025 in keeping with the report.

Despite some encouraging signs on the exit front, comparable to OpenAI’s acquisition of io Products Inc. and the $1 billion plus initial public offerings of six corporations, venture-backed public listings remained sparse within the second quarter. Greater than $23 billion was raised through IPOs within the quarter, which the report notes is just 13% of the 2021 quarterly average. At the identical time, merger and acquisition deals, though higher in volume, have mostly been small and haven’t boosted overall exit value.

In response to the report, fundraising stays the market’s biggest concern. Only $26.6 billion was raised by latest U.S. VC funds in the primary half of the 12 months, a figure that implies that VC fundraises are on target for the bottom annual total in a decade. Some 238 funds closed the quarter and limited partners remain cautious amid poor liquidity and prolonged exit timelines.

Across the pond, European deal value also lagged within the second quarter, with pre-seed and seed rounds the toughest hit. AI represented a 3rd of all European VC investment, but exit activity stays subdued, and fundraising is on pace for a record low, despite pockets of resilience from German funds and emerging managers.

The Asia Pacific and Latin American regions also continued to struggle within the quarter. The Asia Pacific region saw 67 VC-backed exits within the quarter, down from 244 in the primary quarter, as public market softness and valuation mismatches stifled activity. Latin America fared worse, with only seven latest funds closed in 2025 up to now in contrast to greater than 60 in 2021 and 2022.

The info reflects a enterprise market that might be argued to be cautiously optimistic but still constrained by liquidity concerns, fundraising challenges and a heavy dependence on AI to fuel deal activity.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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