Financial Services – CB Insights Research https://www.cbinsights.com/research Thu, 10 Apr 2025 16:22:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 State of Venture Q1’25 Report https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/venture-trends-q1-2025/ Thu, 03 Apr 2025 14:48:01 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=173433 Venture capital funding reached the highest level in nearly 3 years in Q1’25 — led by OpenAI’s mammoth $40B round — as AI continues to reshape the venture ecosystem.  Opportunities across stages and geographies have fueled growth in deal sizes globally. …

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Venture capital funding reached the highest level in nearly 3 years in Q1’25 — led by OpenAI’s mammoth $40B round — as AI continues to reshape the venture ecosystem. 

Opportunities across stages and geographies have fueled growth in deal sizes globally. So far in 2025, the median deal size sits at a record $3.5M.

Bar chart titled "The 'frothiest' startup funding market ever" showing annual median deal size from 2015 to 2025 YTD. Values start at $1.6M in 2015, generally trending upward with some fluctuations, reaching $3.4M in 2021, dropping to $2.4M in 2023, rising to $3.0M in 2024, and hitting an all-time high of $3.5M in 2025 YTD (shown in dark blue). The chart illustrates that annual median deal size is at its highest level ever recorded.

While AI continues to dominate headlines and venture activity, sectors like fintech, digital health, and retail tech all recorded quarterly funding increases as investors diversify beyond core AI infrastructure plays.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of venture across sectors, geographies, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE STATE OF VENTURE Q1’25 REPORT

Get 250+ pages of charts and data detailing the latest trends in venture capital.

Below, we break down the top stories from this quarter’s report, including:

  • Quarterly funding jumps to $121B, even as deal count keeps falling
  • AI now drives 1 in 5 global venture deals
  • Eight early-stage AI companies raise $100M+ mega-rounds
  • Early-stage deal sizes pace at an all-time high
  • Billion-dollar M&A exits hit a new quarterly record

We also outline the key trends shaping venture dealmaking for the rest of 2025 — from AI agent specialization and the voice AI boom to crypto’s rebound.

Let’s dive in.

Top stories in Q1’25

1. Quarterly funding jumps to $121B, even as deal count keeps falling

Q1’25 saw global venture funding rise to $121B — the highest quarterly total since Q2’22 — driven by OpenAI’s $40B raise, which values the company at $300B. This ties OpenAI with ByteDance as the second-highest-valued private company globally (behind SpaceX at $350B).

The OpenAI funding round — led by SoftBank and backed by Microsoft, Thrive Capital, and others — marks the largest private funding round in history. Even excluding this deal, total funding in Q1’25 would have reached $81B, still the second-highest quarterly figure since Q3’22.

Chart titled "OpenAI leads the way to an 11-quarter high in funding" showing venture capital funding trends from Q1 2022 to Q1 2025. Q1 2025 shows $120.9B in funding with OpenAI raising $40.0B of that total. The line graph overlay shows deal count declining from 14,636 in Q1 2022 to 5,846 in Q1 2025. Statistics show funding is up 86% year-over-year while deals are down 28%.

However, global deal count slid for a fourth straight quarter, to 5,846 deals, down 7% QoQ and 28% YoY.

The stark contrast between soaring funding and declining deal count highlights growing capital concentration. 

Mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+) accounted for 70% of all funding this quarter, up from 60% in Q4’24. A total of 145 mega-rounds closed in Q1’25 — the highest quarterly total since Q3’22, which saw 157.

Bar chart showing "10-quarter high in the number of mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+)" from 2021-2025. Q1 2025 shows 145 mega-rounds (dark blue bar), representing a significant increase from previous quarters in 2023-2024 which ranged from 88-137 deals. The chart shows earlier peaks in 2021 when quarters consistently had 370+ mega-rounds, with Q3 and Q4 2021 exceeding 430 deals

While AI startups remain the primary beneficiaries of this capital concentration — grabbing more than half of the quarter’s funding — other sectors are showing resilience. Fintech funding increased 18% quarter-over-quarter to $10.3B, retail tech rose 18% to $6.5B, and digital health grew 47% to $5.3B.

2. AI now drives 1 in 5 venture deals

The influence of AI on venture capital continues to grow, with AI companies now capturing 20% of all venture deals globally — a new high, and up 2x since OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in 2022. 

Area chart titled "'Every company is an AI company' 'Every deal is an AI deal'" showing the annual venture deal share going to AI companies from 2015 to 2025 YTD. The percentage steadily increases from 6% in 2015 to 9% in 2018, jumps to 11% in 2019-2020, dips slightly to 10% in 2021-2022, then rises dramatically to 13% in 2023, 17% in 2024, and reaches 20% in 2025 YTD. A handshake emoji appears next to the title, emphasizing partnerships and deals.

In absolute numbers, AI companies secured 1,134 deals in Q1’25 — a 7% decline from the previous quarter but still the fourth straight quarter with over 1,100 AI deals.

The composition of AI dealmaking is evolving. Early-stage deals (seed and Series A) made up 70% of all AI deals in Q1’25, down from 75% in full-year 2024. Correspondingly, late-stage deal share has increased from 6% to 9%, indicating market maturation as more AI companies progress to advanced funding stages.

The focus of AI dealmaking has also evolved. While infrastructure investments dominated the early AI boom, we’re now seeing greater emphasis on vertical solutions and application-layer platforms that address specific industry challenges. Notable exceptions exist in emerging categories like voice AI, where infrastructure still attracts significant investment.

Geographically, US-based AI companies secured 52% of global AI deals in Q1’25, while Asia and Europe grabbed 21% a piece.

3. Eight early-stage AI companies raise $100M+ mega-rounds

Q1’25 set a new record with 8 early-stage AI companies raising rounds of $100M or more. These 8 companies raised a combined $1.8B — with an average round size of $222M — highlighting investors’ willingness to place substantial bets on AI startups earlier than ever.

Chart titled "All-time high for $100M+ early-stage rounds in AI in a single quarter" showing a line graph tracking the number of large early-stage AI funding rounds by quarter from 2021 to Q1 2025. The line reaches an all-time high of 8 deals in Q1 2025. The right side lists specific $100M+ early-stage AI deals in Q1 2025, including Isomorphic Labs ($600M Series A), Apptronik ($403M Series A), Lila ($200M Seed VC), and five other companies with rounds ranging from $100M to $150M.

The companies represent a diverse range of AI applications:

What unites these companies is their focus on specific industry or technical challenges — not general-purpose AI models. This same trend appears among late-stage players that raised deals in Q1’25, with companies emphasizing enterprise applications, vertical use cases, and infrastructure optimization. 

The shift from infrastructure to applications also plays out at the tech market level. Among the 1,400+ tech markets that CB Insights tracks, those in the below chart saw the greatest number of AI deals in Q1’25. 

While LLM developers remain the top target for deals, they saw no growth in Q1’25 vs. Q1’24. On the other hand, vertical applications in industrials and healthcare — where AI is measurably improving automation — led in terms of YoY growth.

Table titled "Vertical tech markets see the most growth in AI deals YoY" comparing Q1'25 to Q4'24 deal counts across industries. Significant growth areas include AGVs & AMRs in industrials (500% increase), radiology diagnostics (300%), predictive maintenance platforms (150%), and clinical documentation solutions (67%). The data shows LLM developers remain leaders while industrial AI applications are growing fastest

The top three vertical markets for AI deal growth in Q1’25 were automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), radiology diagnostics — particularly those focused on multiple imaging modalities — and clinical documentation solutions.

4. Early-stage deal sizes pace at an all-time high

The median early-stage deal size reached $2.7M in Q1’25, up from $2M in full-year 2024 — a 35% increase. This jump reflects both investors’ willingness to place larger bets on promising teams and the increased capital requirements for competitive AI development.

Bar chart comparing median deal sizes across funding stages. Early-stage deals show a new record of $2.7M in 2025 YTD, compared to the previous record of $2.0M in 2024. Mid-stage deals are at $25.0M in 2025 YTD versus a record of $30.0M in 2021. Late-stage deals are at $30.0M in 2025 YTD compared to a record of $50.0M in 2021.

The increase is particularly notable against a backdrop of declining deal volume — investors are concentrating resources on fewer, more promising opportunities rather than spreading capital across a wide range of startups.

This environment creates both opportunities and challenges for founders. Well-positioned early-stage companies can secure larger initial rounds, but expectations for progress and growth are similarly elevated. The bar for follow-on funding will be higher for mid-stage rounds.

5. Billion-dollar M&A exits hit a new quarterly record

Q1’25 set a new record for billion-dollar M&A activity, with 12 VC-backed exits exceeding $1B in value, surpassing the previous high of 11 seen in both Q1’00 (dot-com bubble) and Q4’20 (peak ZIRP era). These 12 transactions had a combined value of $56B, driven primarily by Google‘s landmark acquisition of cloud security company Wiz.

A bar chart titled "New records for $Billion acquisitions" showing startup acquisition values from 2000-2025. Q1'25 sets a record at $56B (highlighted in pink), a 49% increase from Q1'22's previous high of $37.7B. The chart shows fluctuations over time with notable spikes in early 2021-2022 and the dramatic new peak in 2025. Data comes from CB Insights' State of Venture Q1'25 report, covering $B+ acquisitions of private, VC-backed U.S. headquartered companies as of March 31, 2025.

The Wiz deal now stands as the most valuable M&A deal ever for a VC-backed private company, exceeding Meta‘s WhatsApp acquisition by more than $10B. It also marks Google’s largest acquisition to date — more than double the size of its Motorola Mobility purchase in 2012 — and sets a new record for cybersecurity exits, eclipsing Salesforce’s $28B acquisition of Splunk.

The Wiz deal highlights the growing focus among big tech companies on AI-driven cloud security as enterprises prioritize securing their expanding digital footprints. 

It’s also part of a broader trend of high-profile unicorn exits that includes both IPOs (CoreWeave) and M&A transactions (Moveworks, Weights & Biases). 

In fact, looking back to 2024, billion-dollar IPOs delivered strong returns — averaging a 97% increase in market cap post-listing. This bodes well for other IPO hopefuls looking to brave the public markets in the coming months.

Chart titled "2024's largest IPOs have IP-Grown" showing valuation changes for major IPOs. On average, $1B+ IPO companies have nearly doubled their market cap (+97%). Individual companies are shown with their growth rates: Reddit (+253%), Juniper Networks (+562%), Rubrik (+149%), AsteraLabs (+118%), with others showing more modest growth. Three companies show losses: Concentra (-2%), Ibotta (-57%), and Kyverna (-93%)

DOWNLOAD THE STATE OF VENTURE Q1’25 REPORT

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Predictions for venture dealmaking in 2025

Below, we use signals from public-company earnings calls, startup financing trends, and business relationships to predict which trends will dominate venture activity through the rest of 2025.

AI agents “niche down” and gain enterprise buy-in

Dual line charts titled "Not-so-secret agents" showing quarterly earnings call mentions of AI-related terms. The top chart tracks "Agentic" mentions, which remained near zero until late 2023, then skyrocketed to 234 mentions in Q1 2025. The bottom chart shows "Agent" mentions, which grew more gradually from 2020-2022, accelerated in 2023, and reached 326 mentions in Q1 2025. The headline notes "Everyone is talking about agents – creating opportunities for those building."

AI agents are transitioning from concept to commercial application. They’ve become a frequent topic on corporate earnings calls, and according to a December 2024 CB Insights survey, 63% of organizations said they are placing significant importance on AI agents over the next 12 months. All respondents reported at least experimenting with agents.

These LLM-based systems represent an evolution beyond copilots. They can autonomously handle complex tasks — from sales prospecting to compliance decision-making — with limited human input. The market is expanding rapidly, with CB Insights data showing that over half of companies in the space were founded since 2023.

Investor interest is surging in parallel. AI agent startups saw more than 200 equity deals in 2024 — and activity is pacing toward similar levels this year.

Bar chart titled "There's an AI agent for that..." showing AI agent deal counts by year. Values increase from 52 deals in 2021, dropping to 40 in 2022, then surging to 142 in 2023 and 211 in 2024. For 2025, 48 equity deals have occurred so far with a projected total of 192 deals. The chart is from CB Insights' State of Venture Q1'25 report (as of 03/31/2025)

Key investment themes emerging in the space include:

  • Specialized agents for specific business functions (sales, legal, finance)
  • Agent orchestration platforms that manage multiple agentic systems
  • Safety and alignment tools for ensuring agent behaviors match human intentions
  • Enterprise-grade agents with robust permissions and security frameworks

As agents become more capable and trustworthy, adoption will accelerate across industries.

Read more from our AI agent coverage:

Voice AI takes off amid technical advances

Voice AI is undergoing a technical transformation as models shift toward processing audio directly — bypassing the text intermediation stage — and approaching human-like conversation latency of under 300ms.

This technical progress has fueled substantial investment, with voice AI solutions raising $2.1B in 2024 and nearly $500M in Q1’25. 

Two charts about voice AI funding titled "Let's talk about voice AI." The top chart shows annual funding: $394M (2021), $315M (2022), $264M (2023), $2.1B (2024), and $497M for 2025 so far with projected funding of $2.0B. The bottom chart shows business relationship count growing from near zero in 2015 to 100 in 2024, with 22 relationships established so far in 2025 and a projected 88 for the full year.

One standout is ElevenLabs, which reached $100M in ARR just 3 years after its founding and raised a $180M round in January from investors including a16z, Salesforce Ventures, and Sequoia Capital.

Despite these promising signals, the voice AI market remains in early development. CB Insights data shows approximately 85% of companies in the space are at levels 1-3 on the Commercial Maturity scale. Nearly half are developing or validating their products, while 39% have just begun commercial distribution.

As voice interfaces become more natural and capable, we expect to see investment opportunities emerge in several areas:

  • Domain-specific voice applications for industries like healthcare and legal
  • Voice AI trained on local languages not typically covered by general-purpose AI systems
  • Voice-first UI/UX for both consumer and enterprise applications

Crypto & blockchain rebound

After weathering a prolonged crypto winter, blockchain technologies are experiencing renewed institutional interest. Funding to crypto/blockchain companies reached $6.6B in Q1’25, putting the space on track to surpass $20B in annual funding. Earnings call mentions have climbed accordingly. 

Two-part chart titled "Crypto makes a comeback" showing crypto/blockchain funding trends. The top line graph shows quarterly earnings call mentions peaking near 1,000 in Q1 2022, declining through 2023, and rising to 682 mentions in Q1 2025. The bottom bar chart shows annual funding from 2015-2025, with 2021 and 2022 both reaching peaks around $30B, dropping to $15B in 2023 and $10B in 2024. For 2025, $6.6B has been raised so far with projected funding of $26.3B

Several crypto companies now rank among the most likely IPO candidates, with platforms like Blockchain.com and Kraken showing IPO probabilities 64x higher than the average company tracked by CB Insights — a notable shift in public-market viability for the sector. 

Another trend to watch is the growing institutional and government focus on stablecoins, as regulators develop frameworks to incorporate these digital assets into the traditional financial system. 

Defense tech comes into focus

Military technology is entering a new era as investment shifts toward autonomous systems and AI-driven capabilities.

According to former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley, smart machines and robotics could account for one-third of the US military presence within the next 15 years.

Funding to AI defense tech startups has already reached $1.5B this year — leading to a projected $6B by year-end. Last quarter saw earnings call discussion of defense reach an all-time high.

Two-part chart titled "Defense tech goes on a funding offensive" showing growing interest in defense technology. The top line graph displays quarterly earnings call mentions rising from around 900 in Q1 2020 to 2,847 in Q1 2025, with consistent growth throughout this period. The bottom bar chart shows annual funding to AI defense tech companies: $3.4B (2021), $2.5B (2022), $2.1B (2023), $3.7B (2024), and $1.5B funding so far in 2025 with projected funding of $6.0B for the full year.

Much of this activity centers on multidomain operations (MDO) technologies — integrating systems across land, sea, air, space, and cyber — where AI is accelerating mission planning, threat detection, and battlefield connectivity. Major defense contractors are forming partnerships with AI startups to enhance battlefield management systems, mission planning capabilities, and integrated defense connectivity platforms.

As geopolitical tensions persist, defense tech investment is likely to continue growing, with particular focus on autonomous systems, AI-enhanced battlefield analytics, and advanced cybersecurity solutions for critical infrastructure.

Conclusion

The venture capital landscape in Q1’25 reflects key contrasts: record funding alongside declining deal count, significant early-stage deals vs. heightened expectations for follow-on capital, and a resurgence in billion-dollar exits despite broader market caution.

AI continues to influence capital allocation decisions across the venture ecosystem, but we’re seeing a shift from general infrastructure investments to specialized vertical applications and industry-specific solutions. Meanwhile, sectors beyond AI are showing resilience, with fintech, digital health, and retail tech all posting quarterly funding increases.

For investors, the data suggests maintaining a disciplined approach to AI investments while remaining alert to opportunities in adjacent sectors. The companies that successfully blend AI capabilities with sustainable business models will emerge as the defining ventures of this era.

For more insights on venture trends and emerging technologies, explore our related resources:

For information on reprint rights or other inquiries, please contact reprints@cbinsights.com.

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The AI 100 Revealed: The Most Promising Startups of 2025 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-2025-ai-100/ Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:03:56 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=173424 The post The AI 100 Revealed: The Most Promising Startups of 2025 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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Tariffs, Tech & Venture: Data-Driven Insights for a Shifting Market https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-tariffs-tech-corporate-strategy/ Thu, 20 Mar 2025 20:57:19 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=173330 The post Tariffs, Tech & Venture: Data-Driven Insights for a Shifting Market appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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The AI agent market map https://www.cbinsights.com/research/ai-agent-market-map/ Thu, 06 Mar 2025 19:12:32 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?p=173180 “Digital coworkers” are moving from concept to reality.  While AI copilots have already made inroads across industries, the next evolution — autonomous agents with greater decision-making scope — is arriving quickly. AI agent startups raised $3.8B in 2024 (nearly tripling …

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“Digital coworkers” are moving from concept to reality. 

While AI copilots have already made inroads across industries, the next evolution — autonomous agents with greater decision-making scope — is arriving quickly. AI agent startups raised $3.8B in 2024 (nearly tripling 2023’s total), and every big tech player is already developing AI agents or offering the tooling for them.

Implications for enterprises will be far-reaching, from altering workforce composition (with new hybrid teams of humans and AI agents) to maximizing operational efficiency through full automation of routine tasks. 

What’s next for AI agents?

Get the free report on 4 trends we expect to shape the AI agent landscape in 2025.

Below we identify 170+ promising startups developing AI agent infrastructure and applications. 

We selected companies for inclusion based on Mosaic health scores (500+) and/or funding recency (since 2022). We included private companies only and organized them according to their primary focus. This market map is not exhaustive of the space.

Want to be considered for future AI agent research? Brief our analysts to ensure we have the most up-to-date data on your company. 

The AI agent market map, featuring 170+ companies

Outlook on AI agents

Fully autonomous agents remain limited due to issues pertaining to reliability, reasoning, and access. Most agent applications today operate with “guardrails” — within a constrained architecture where, for example, the LLM-based system follows a decision tree to complete tasks. 

Agents featured on this map include some combination of the following components: 

  • Reasoning: Foundation models that enable complex reasoning, language understanding, and decision-making. These models evaluate information and form the cognitive core of the agent.
  • Memory: Systems that store, organize, and retrieve both short-term contextual information and long-term knowledge.
  • Tool use: Integration capabilities that allow agents to interact with external applications, APIs, databases, the internet, and other software. 
  • Planning: The agent’s architecture for breaking down complex tasks into more manageable steps, reflecting on performance, and adapting as necessary.  

We expect more startups to move up the scale of autonomy as AI capabilities advance. Improvements in reasoning and memory will enable more sophisticated decision-making, adaptability, and task execution.

Framework for understanding AI agents

For example, in September 2024, legal AI startup Harvey announced that OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model, supplemented with domain-specific knowledge and data, was enabling it to build legal agents. The company, which raised $300M at a $3B valuation in February 2025, has doubled its sales force in the last 6 months, indicating rising market demand.

While the above market map highlights the private landscape (with a focus on enterprise applications), tech giants and incumbents are also launching agents. We predict big tech and leading LLM developers will own general-purpose AI agents, but there are many opportunities for smaller, specialized players. 

Looking ahead, watch for new form factors outside of the copilot/chatbot interface that will push the boundaries of what an “agent” is. Early indications of this include “AI-native” workspaces — tools and platforms built from the ground up around AI capabilities, rather than layering AI features on top of a traditional product. For instance:

  • Eve’s legal platform aims to automate aspects of the whole case lifecycle (from case intake to drafting). 
  • Hebbia’s Matrix product builds spreadsheets that mine information from files (in rows) and deliver answers to questions (in columns), proactively discovering, organizing, and surfacing data.
  • With its Dia product, The Browser Company is exploring web browsing interfaces that can summarize content, automate repetitive web tasks, and even anticipate next actions.

Category overview

AI agent infrastructure

This segment covers companies building agent-specific infrastructure. (We excluded general genAI infrastructure markets like foundation models and vector databases from the map.)

Development tools

A diverse ecosystem of tools has emerged to support agents’ development. These range from memory frameworks like Letta that enable persistent, retrievable memory across interactions; to tools that allow agents to take action via integration (e.g., Composio), authentication (e.g., Anon), and browser automation (e.g., Browserbase).

Another set of companies is giving agents more utility across payments (which includes companies developing crypto wallets for agents as well as virtual cards) and voice (development platforms and tools for testing AI voice applications as well as speech models).

Meanwhile, demand for simplified, comprehensive deployment options is driving the rise of AI agent development platforms — the most crowded infrastructure market on our map. 

LLM developers including Cohere (with its North AI workspace) and Mistral have launched their own agent development frameworks, while Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Nvidia all offer AI agent development tooling. With many enterprises favoring established vendors due to lower risk, big tech companies have significant advantages here.

Trust & performance

Concerns around reliability and security have helped establish a market for agent evaluation & observability tools. Early-stage companies are targeting applications such as automated testing (e.g., Haize Labs) and performance tracking (e.g., Langfuse). 

Multi-agent systems, where specialized sub-agents work together to complete tasks, also show promise in improving accuracy. Insight Partners-backed CrewAI’s multi-agent orchestration platform is reportedly already used by 40% of the Fortune 500. 

Vendors are also tackling reliability concerns directly. Based on our briefings with 20+ AI agent startups in Q1’25, companies are using 5 primary methods to build user trust: 

  1. Transparency
  2. Human oversight
  3. Technical safeguards
  4. Security & compliance
  5. Continuous improvement 

Horizontal applications & job functions

Horizontal AI agent startups make up nearly half of the map and overall landscape. 

This segment primarily features startups targeting enterprises, with industry-agnostic applications across job functions like HR/recruiting, marketing, and security operations. Companies in the productivity & personal assistants market, including OpenAI with its Operator agent, are targeting consumers and employees directly.  

The AI agent markets with the most traction — based on companies’ median Mosaic health scores — are customer service and software development (which includes coding and code review & testing agents). These markets are also among the most crowded due to the value agents bring to well-defined workflows and testable environments. 

We see this reflected in adoption, particularly at the customer service layer: Among 64 organizations surveyed by CB Insights in December 2024, two-thirds indicated they are using or will be using AI agents in customer support in the next 12 months. 

Overall, horizontal AI agent applications are more commercially mature compared to the infrastructure and vertical segments, with over two-thirds of the market deploying or scaling their solutions based on CBI Commercial Maturity scores

What’s next for AI agents?

Get the free report on 4 trends we expect to shape the AI agent landscape in 2025.

Vertical (industry-specific) applications

We expect increasing verticalization as startups carve out niches by solving industry-specific customer problems, especially in areas with strict regulatory scrutiny and data sensitivity.

This category features companies catering to industries including: 

  • Financial services & insurance: The most crowded vertical category on the map with 11 companies, startups here are targeting a variety of finserv workflows such as financial research (Boosted.ai and Wokelo), insurance sales & support (Alltius and Indemn), and wealth advisory prospecting & operations (Finny AI and Powder). 
  • Healthcare: Solutions in this market aim to reduce the volume of manual tasks for healthcare professionals across use cases like clinical documentation, revenue cycle operations, call centers, and virtual triage. Solutions from companies like Thoughtful AI (revenue cycle operations) and Hippocratic AI (staffing marketplace) are targeting end-to-end healthcare workflows. 
  • Industrials: These companies look to optimize processes and equipment — including control systems, robots, and other industrial machines — without relying on consistent human intervention. For example, Composabl launched an agent platform in May 2024 that uses LLMs to create skills and goals for agents that can control industrial equipment. Public companies like Palantir are also active in this space. Learn more in our industrial AI agents & copilots market map

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Tech M&A Predictions for 2025 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-tech-ma-predictions-2025/ Mon, 24 Feb 2025 21:34:48 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=173064 The post Tech M&A Predictions for 2025 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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The State of AI: Charting the Course from 2024 to 2025 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-ai-trends-q4-2024/ Tue, 11 Feb 2025 17:59:45 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=172741 The post The State of AI: Charting the Course from 2024 to 2025 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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The Future of the Customer Journey https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-future-customer-journey/ Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:06:49 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=172944 The post The Future of the Customer Journey appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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State of CVC 2024 Report https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/corporate-venture-capital-trends-2024/ Tue, 04 Feb 2025 14:00:45 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=172858 Global CVC-backed funding rebounded 20% YoY to $65.9B in 2024, fueled by increased attention to US startups — especially AI companies, which drew record-high shares of both CVC-backed deals and funding. However, global CVC deal count dropped to its lowest level …

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Global CVC-backed funding rebounded 20% YoY to $65.9B in 2024, fueled by increased attention to US startups — especially AI companies, which drew record-high shares of both CVC-backed deals and funding.

AI startups capture 37% of CVC-backed funding in 2024

However, global CVC deal count dropped to its lowest level since 2018 as CVCs become more selective.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of CVC across sectors, geographies, and more.

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Get 120+ pages of charts and data detailing the latest trends in corporate venture capital.

Key takeaways from the report include:

  • CVC-backed funding grows, deal activity slows. Global CVC-backed funding increased 20% YoY to $65.9B, but deal count fell to 3,434, the lowest level since 2018. All major regions saw deal volume declines, with Europe dropping the most at 10% YoY.
  • CVCs are all in on AI. AI startups captured 37% of CVC-backed funding and 21% of deals in 2024 — both record highs. Counter to the broader decline in deals, CVCs ratcheted up AI dealmaking by 13% YoY as they race to secure footholds in the space before competitors gain an insurmountable edge.
  • The flight to quality continues. Among deals with CVC participation, the annual average deal size hit $27.3M in 2024, tied for the second highest ever. Amid fewer deals, CVCs are increasingly aggressive when they do decide to invest.
  • Early-stage deals dominate. Early-stage rounds comprised 65% of 2024 CVC-backed deals, tied for the highest share in over a decade. Biotech startups made up half of the top 20 early-stage deals.
  • CVC-backed funding plummets in Asia. In 2024, Asia’s CVC-backed funding dropped 34% YoY to $7B — the lowest level since 2016. China is leading the decline, with no quarter in 2024 exceeding $0.5B in funding. CVCs remain wary of investing in the country’s private sector.

We dive into the trends below.

CVC-backed funding grows, deal activity slows

Global CVC-backed funding reached $65.9B, a 20% YoY increase. The US was the main driver, increasing 39% YoY to $42.8B. Europe also saw CVC-backed funding grow 18% to $12.3B, while Asia declined 34% to $7B.

$100M+ mega-rounds also contributed to the rise, ticking up 21% YoY to 141 deals worth over $32B in funding.

CVC-backed equity funding jumps 20% in 2024

Meanwhile, deal count continued its decline, as both annual (3,434 in 2024) and quarterly (806 in Q4’24) totals reached their lowest levels in 6 years.

Annual deal volume fell by at least 6% YoY across each major region — the US, Asia, and Europe — with Europe experiencing the largest decline at 10%.

However, Japan-based CVC deal volume remains near peak levels, suggesting a more resilient CVC culture compared to other nations. Two of the three most active CVCs in Q4’24 are based in Japan: Mitsubishi UFJ Capital (21 company investments) and SMBC Venture Capital (15).

CVCs are all in on AI

AI is driving CVC investment activity, much like the broader venture landscape. In 2024, AI startups captured 37% of CVC-backed funding and 21% of deals, both record highs.

In Q4’24, the biggest CVC-backed rounds went primarily to AI companies. These include:

CVCs are also investing in the energy companies powering the AI boom, such as Intersect Power, which raised the largest round at $800M (backed by GV).

Expect the trend to continue into 2025, as emerging AI markets mature further, such as AI agents & copilots for enterprise and industrial use cases; AI solutions for e-commerce, finance, and defense; and the computing hardware necessary to power these technologies.

The flight to quality continues

In 2024, the annual average deal size with CVC participation reached $27.3M, a 34% YoY increase and tied for the second highest level on record, exceeded only by the low-interest-rate environment of 2021.​

Median deal size also increased, though only by 8% to $8.6M.

Annual average CVC-backed deal size hits its second highest level ever, at $27.3M

 

Even though the number of CVC-backed deals declined in 2024, the increase in average annual deal size reflects a focus on companies with strong growth prospects. CVCs are prioritizing quality and committing more funds to a select group of high-potential investments.

Early-stage deals dominate

Early-stage rounds (seed/angel and Series A) made up 65% of CVC-backed deals in 2024, tied for the highest recorded level in more than a decade.​

65% of CVC-backed deals are early-stage

In Q4’24, biotech companies were the early-stage fundraising leaders, accounting for 10 of the 20 largest early-stage deals. Biotech players City Therapeutics, Axonis, and Trace Neuroscience all raised $100M+ Series A rounds, with City Therapeutics and Axonis notably receiving investment from the venture arms of Regeneron and Merck, respectively.

Among all early-stage CVC-backed companies, the largest round went to Physical Intelligence, a startup focused on using AI to improve robots and other devices. Physical Intelligence raised a $400M Series A with investment from OpenAI Startup Fund.

CVC-backed funding plummets in Asia

Asia’s CVC-backed funding continued its downward trend in 2024, decreasing 34% YoY to $7B.

CVC-backed equity funding to Asia falls 34%

China was the main driver, with CVC-backed funding coming in at $0.5B or less every quarter in 2024.​ CVCs remain wary of investing in startups in the nation, which faces a variety of economic challenges, including a prolonged real estate slump, cautious consumer spending, strained government finances, and weakened private sector activity amid policy crackdowns.

In Japan, on the other hand, CVC activity remains robust. In 2024, funding with CVC participation ($1.7B) remained on par with the year prior, while deals (502) actually increased by 11%.

MORE VENTURE RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS

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State of AI Report: 6 trends shaping the landscape in 2025 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/ai-trends-2024/ Thu, 30 Jan 2025 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=172819 2024 was a transformative year for the AI landscape. Venture funding surged past the $100B mark for the first time as AI infrastructure players pulled in billion-dollar investments. A wave of M&A deals and rapidly scaling AI unicorns further underscored …

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2024 was a transformative year for the AI landscape.

Venture funding surged past the $100B mark for the first time as AI infrastructure players pulled in billion-dollar investments. A wave of M&A deals and rapidly scaling AI unicorns further underscored the tech’s momentum.

Global AI funding hits record $100.4B in 2024

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of AI across exits, top investors, geographies, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE STATE OF AI 2024 REPORT

Get 160+ pages of charts and data detailing the latest venture trends in AI.

Key takeaways include: 

  • Massive deals drive AI funding boom. AI funding hit a record $100.4B in 2024, with mega-rounds accounting for the largest share of funding we’ve tracked to date (69%) — reflecting the high costs of AI development. Quarterly funding surged to $43.8B in Q4’24, driven by billion-dollar investments in model and infrastructure players. At the same time, nearly 3 in 4 AI deals (74%) remain early-stage as investors look to get in on the ground floor of the AI opportunity. 
  • Industry tech sectors lose ground in AI deals. Vertical tech areas like fintech, digital health, and retail tech are securing a smaller percentage of overall AI deals (declining from a collective 38% in 2019 to 24% in 2024). The data suggests that companies focused on infrastructure and horizontal AI applications are drawing greater investor interest amid generative AI’s rise.
  • Outside of the US, Europe fields high-potential AI startup regions. While the US dominated AI funding (76%) and deals (49%) in 2024, countries in Europe show strong potential in AI development based on CB Insights Mosaic startup health scores. Israel leads with the highest median Mosaic score (700) among AI companies raising funding. 
  • AI M&A activity maintains momentum. The AI acquisition wave remained strong in 2024, with 384 exits nearly matching 2023’s record of 397. Europe-based startups represented over a third of M&A activity, cementing a 4-year streak of rising acquisitions among the region’s startups. 
  • AI startups race to $1B+ valuations despite early market maturity. The 32 new AI unicorns in 2024 represented nearly half of all new unicorns. However, AI unicorns haven’t built as robust of a commercial network as non-AI unicorns, per CB Insights Commercial Maturity scores, indicating their valuations are based more on potential than proven business models at this stage.
  • Tech leaders embed themselves deeper in the AI ecosystem. Major tech companies and chipmakers led corporate VC activity in AI during Q4’24, with Google (GV), Nvidia (NVentures), Qualcomm (Qualcomm Ventures), and Microsoft (M12) being the most active investors. This reflects the strategic importance of securing access to promising startups while providing them with essential technical infrastructure.

We dive into the trends below.

For more on key shifts in the AI landscape in 2025, check out this report on the implications of DeepSeek’s rise.

Massive deals drive AI funding boom

Globally, private AI companies raised a record $100.4B in 2024. At the quarterly level, funding soared to a record $43.8B in Q4’24, or over 2.5x the prior quarter’s total. 

The funding increase is largely explained by a wave of massive deals: mega-rounds ($100M+ deals) accounted for 80% of Q4’24 dollars and 69% of AI funding in 2024 overall.

The year featured 13 $1B+ deals, the majority of which went to AI model and infrastructure players. OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic raised 4 out of the 5 largest rounds in 2024 as they burned through cash to fund the development of frontier models. 

Q4'24 sees AI funding catapult

Overall, the concentration of funding in mega-rounds reflects the high costs of AI development across hardware, staffing, and energy needs — and widespread investor enthusiasm around the AI opportunity. 

But that opportunity isn’t limited to the largest players: nearly 3 in 4 AI deals (74%) were early-stage in 2024. The share of early-stage AI deals has trended upward since 2021 (67%) as investors look to ride the next major wave of value creation in tech.

Industry tech sectors lose ground in AI deals

Major tech sectors — fintech, digital health, and retail tech — are making up a smaller percentage of AI deals.

Shrinking slice of AI investment pie

While the overall annual AI deal count has stayed steady above 4,000 since 2021, dealmaking in sectors like digital health and fintech has declined to multi-year lows. So, even as AI companies make up a greater share of the deals that do happen in these industries, the gains haven’t been enough to register in the broader AI landscape.

The data suggests that, amid generative AI’s ascendancy, AI companies targeting infrastructure and horizontal applications are drawing a greater share of deals. 

With billions of dollars flowing to the model/infra layer as well, investors appear to be betting that the economic benefits of the latest AI boom will accrue to the builders.  

Outside of the US, Europe fields high-potential AI startup regions

Although US-based companies captured 76% of AI funding in 2024, deal activity was more distributed across the globe. US AI startups accounted for 49% of deals, followed by Asia (23.2%) and Europe (22.9%). 

Comparing median CB Insights Mosaic scores (a measure of private tech company health and growth potential on a 0–1,000 scale) for AI companies that raised equity funding in 2024 highlights promising regional hubs. 

European countries dominate the top 10 countries by Mosaic score (outside of the US). Israel, which has a strong technical talent pool and established startup culture, leads the pack with a median Mosaic score of 700.

Promising regional AI startup hubs. European countries show strong potential in AI development outside US

Overall activity on the continent is dominated by early-stage deals, which accounted for 81% of deals to Europe-based startups in 2024, a 7-year high.

The European Union indicated in November that scaling startups is a top priority, pointing to the importance of increased late-stage private investment in remaining competitive on the global stage.

AI M&A activity maintains momentum

The AI M&A wave is in full force, with 2024’s 384 exits nearly reaching the previous year’s record-high 397.

Acquisitions of Europe-based startups accounted for over a third of AI M&A activity in 2024. Among the global regions we track, Europe is the only one that has seen annual AI acquisitions climb for 4 consecutive years. Although the US did see a bigger uptick YoY (16%) in 2024, posting 188 deals. 

In Europe, UK-based AI startups led activity in 2024, with 32 M&A deals, followed by Germany (18), France (16), and Israel (12). 

Major US tech companies, including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Salesforce, participated in some of the largest M&A deals of the year as they embedded AI across their offerings.

Acquisitions of European AI startups heat up

 

AI startups race to $1B+ valuations despite early market maturity 

AI now dominates new unicorn creation. The 32 new AI unicorns in 2024 accounted for nearly half of all companies passing the $1B+ valuation threshold during the year. 

These AI startups are hitting unicorn status with much smaller teams and at much faster rates than non-AI startups: 203 vs. 414 employees at the median, and 2 years vs. 9 years at the median. 

These trends reflect the current AI hype — investors are placing big early bets on AI potential. Many of these unicorns are still proving out sustainable revenue models. We can see this clearly in CB Insights Commercial Maturity scores. More than half of the AI unicorns born in 2024 are at the validating/deploying stages of development, while non-AI new unicorns mostly had to get to at least the scaling stage before earning their unicorn status.

AI startups race to unicorn status pre-scale: share of new unicorns ($1B+ valuation) in 2024 by Commercial Maturity score

Tech leaders embed themselves deeper in the AI ecosystem

In Q4’24, the top corporate VCs in AI (by number of companies backed) were led by a string of notable names: Google (GV), Nvidia (NVentures), Qualcomm (Qualcomm Ventures), and Microsoft (M12). 

As enterprises rush to harness AI’s potential, big tech, chipmakers, and other enterprise tech players are building their exposure to promising companies along the AI value chain.

Meanwhile, startups are linking up with these players to not only secure funding for capital-intensive AI development but also access critical cloud infrastructure and chips.

Enterprise tech players and chipmakers lead CVC charge in AI

MORE AI RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS

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Here’s how leading strategy teams are successfully driving generative AI adoption in their organizations https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/corporate-strategy-generative-ai-adoption-success/ Thu, 16 Jan 2025 14:58:50 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=172689 Generative AI is the leading tech priority for corporate strategy teams in the next year. But only 32% of strategy leaders report active genAI deployments at their organizations. To identify pain points and success stories for genAI adoption, we surveyed …

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Generative AI is the leading tech priority for corporate strategy teams in the next year.

But only 32% of strategy leaders report active genAI deployments at their organizations.

To identify pain points and success stories for genAI adoption, we surveyed 50 senior strategy leaders working at companies across major industries.

Download the full report to understand how leading strategy teams navigate genAI adoption, their key challenges, and the tactics separating successful implementations from stalled initiatives.

THE STRATEGY TEAM GENAI PLAYBOOK

Download the free report on how leading strategy teams are navigating genAI adoption, including their key challenges and tactics to overcome them.

The strategy playbook for genAI adoption

For information on reprint rights or other inquiries, please contact reprints@cbinsights.com.

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State of Fintech 2024 Report https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/fintech-trends-2024/ Tue, 14 Jan 2025 14:00:41 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=172664 Fintech funding and dealmaking declined again year-over-year (YoY) in 2024, hitting their lowest levels in 7 years. However, some positive signals are emerging, including growing deal sizes and a pickup in M&A, with a focus on cybersecurity capabilities. Download the …

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Fintech funding and dealmaking declined again year-over-year (YoY) in 2024, hitting their lowest levels in 7 years.

However, some positive signals are emerging, including growing deal sizes and a pickup in M&A, with a focus on cybersecurity capabilities.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of fintech across sectors, geographies, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE STATE OF FINTECH 2024 REPORT

Get 200 pages of charts and data detailing the latest venture trends in fintech.

Key takeaways from the report include:

  • Fintech dealmaking continues downward trend in 2024. Annual fintech deals and funding both dropped to 7-year lows in 2024. While deals dropped by 17% YoY to a total of 3,580, funding fell by 20% to $33.7B.
  • One positive signal: bigger deals. The median fintech deal size increased to $4M in 2024 — marking a 33% jump YoY — with deal sizes rising across every major global region. Across fintech sectors, the biggest jump occurred in banking, where the median deal size rose by 70% YoY to reach $8.5M. Though fintech saw fewer deals overall in 2024, the increase in deal sizes suggests that investors are writing bigger checks for companies with compelling growth potential.
  • M&A activity is also picking up. Fintech M&A exits jumped 24% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to 189 in Q4’24, with Stripe’s $1.1B purchase of stablecoin platform Bridge marking the quarter’s largest deal. Overall, fintech saw a total of 664 M&A exits in 2024 (up 6% YoY) as financial services companies sought to diversify their capabilities and build full-service platforms.
  • Mature banking companies are catching the eyes of investors. Banking saw mid- and late-stage deals rise to 38% of its total deal volume in 2024 (vs. 21% in 2023), outpacing the 4 percentage point increase in fintech more broadly. Uncertainty about new banking technology and regulatory volatility — particularly among banking-as-a-service players — is likely driving investors to more proven solutions.
  • Payments tech ends 2024 as a bright spot. Five of the top 10 equity deals in Q4’24 went to companies building payments solutions, from mobile payments apps to cross-border payments enablement tools to platforms digitizing B2B payments. This concentration of large deals within payments tech reflects the ongoing push to digitize commerce and business exchanges. 

We dive into the trends below.

Fintech dealmaking continues downward trend in 2024

In 2024, annual fintech funding and dealmaking both decreased YoY, hitting 7-year lows.

Fintech funding declines in 2024, though by a smaller percentage

However, there are signs that the fintech market is steadying. The annual decline in funding was fintech’s smallest in 3 years. Meanwhile, at the quarterly level, funding rebounded to close the year strong, increasing 11% QoQ to reach $8.5B in Q4’24.

One positive signal: bigger deals

While there are fewer fintech deals overall, deal sizes are climbing. 

Following 2 consecutive years of decline, the median deal size in fintech jumped 33% YoY in 2024.

Across fintech sectors, banking saw the biggest jump in median deal size in 2024 — a 70% YoY increase to $8.5M. 

Fintech deal sizes climb in 2024

This shift reflects increased investor selectivity in the current market. Companies that pass more rigorous due diligence are attracting larger investments, even as overall deal volume remains constrained.

M&A activity is also picking up

Fintech M&A deals jumped 24% QoQ in Q4’24. 

US-based companies captured 8 of the largest 10 deals, including the top 5. Stripe’s $1.1B acquisition of Bridge was the largest of the quarter.

M&A exits jump 24% QoQ in Q4'24

The quarterly increase points to broader stirrings of an M&A resurgence: for the year, fintech M&A exits rose by 6% YoY to 664 deals in 2024. 

Acquirers are boosting capabilities across functions. For instance, Stripe’s purchase of stablecoin platform Bridge gives the company a stronger standing in the reinvigorated market for digital assets and boosts its cross-border payment capabilities. The deal also emphasizes stablecoins’ growing role in driving accessibility and stability within crypto’s current wave.

Bolstering cybersecurity was also a focus for acquirers in Q4’24, pointing to financial services companies’ push to integrate fraud detection in their product offerings. For example, in November 2024, IT company N-able bought Adlumin, which deploys its solutions to financial firms, to enhance its cybersecurity capabilities. In October, Socure — specializing in digital identity verification — acquired Effectiv to enhance its AI-driven fraud detection capabilities.

Mature banking companies are catching the eyes of investors

Early-stage deals made up a larger share of fintech investment activity in 2022-23, suggesting that investors shifted their focus toward nascent innovation requiring smaller capital commitments during the market slowdown.

The trend shifted in 2024, particularly in the banking sector. While mid- and late-stage deal share rose by 4 percentage points YoY across fintech broadly, it jumped 17 percentage points in banking. 

Mid- and late-stage deal share rises in 2024, particularly in banking

Recent volatility in banking-as-a-service — such as Synapse’s bankruptcy in April — and intensified regulatory scrutiny are likely driving investors to more proven solutions.

Payments tech ends 2024 as a bright spot

Five of the 10 biggest fintech deals in Q4’24 went to payments companies, capping a relatively strong quarter for the sector. Despite a YoY decline, funding to payments companies rose by 20% QoQ to $1.8B in Q4’24.

Argentina-based mobile payments company Ualá secured a $300M Series E in Q4’24, tying home equity release firm Splitero for the largest round of the quarter.

Payments companies raise half of the largest rounds in Q4'24

Of the top payments deals, two went to companies automating accounts payable and other aspects of B2B payments (Melio and ASAAS). The opportunity to digitize B2B payments continues to expand, especially since businesses in many geographies still rely on manual processes.

Related resources from CB Insights:

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The GenAI Playbook: The Data Behind How High-Performing Strategy Teams Are Adopting Generative AI https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-generative-ai-playbook/ Wed, 08 Jan 2025 19:23:44 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=172628 The post The GenAI Playbook: The Data Behind How High-Performing Strategy Teams Are Adopting Generative AI appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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State of Venture 2024 Report https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/venture-trends-2024/ Tue, 07 Jan 2025 15:00:28 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=172582 AI has reshaped the venture landscape, capturing a record share of funding (37%) and deals (17%) in 2024, including 5 of the year’s largest deals. But beyond the momentum building in AI, global deal activity plunged 19% YoY to its …

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AI has reshaped the venture landscape, capturing a record share of funding (37%) and deals (17%) in 2024, including 5 of the year’s largest deals.

The AI arms race reshapes venture activity, capturing 37% of funding and 17% of deals in 2024

But beyond the momentum building in AI, global deal activity plunged 19% YoY to its lowest level since 2016, creating both challenges and opportunities for investors and corporate strategists.

Download the full report to access comprehensive data and charts on the evolving state of venture across sectors, geographies, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE STATE OF VENTURE 2024 REPORT

Get 270+ pages of charts and data detailing the latest trends in venture capital.

Key takeaways from the report include:

AI is eating VC. In 2024, AI represented 37% of venture funding and 17% of deals — both all-time highs. AI infrastructure players raised all of the top 5 venture deals of the year, with 4 closing in Q4’24 alone — driving a 2-year high in quarterly funding. With nearly 3 in 4 (74%) AI deals being early-stage in 2024, investors are staking out early claims to reap the rewards of the tech’s potential.

Aside from AI, venture dealmaking is in a drought. Globally, deal activity fell 19% YoY to 27K in 2024 — its lowest annual level since 2016. The drop was most pronounced in countries like China (-33% YoY), Canada (-27%), and Germany (-23%). However, several countries in Asia — Japan, India, and South Korea — have bucked the downward trend. Their resilience suggests attractive investment conditions.

AI and industrial automation are common themes among the fastest-growing tech markets. Out of 1,400+ tech markets that CB Insights tracks, those with the highest rate of YoY deal growth include enterprise AI agents, genAI for customer support, industrial humanoid robots, and autonomous driving systems. Expect these technologies to continue maturing in 2025, increasing their disruptive potential.

Despite market uncertainty, early-stage valuations hit a record-high median of $25M in 2024. Investors are packing into early-stage rounds to ride the next major wave of value creation in tech, likely drawn by startups’ ability to now build products with less capital and fewer people thanks to AI tools and infrastructure. However, early-stage startups could face a reality check when they try to raise later-stage rounds if they have yet to prove they can sustain growth. Although mid- and late-stage deal valuations rebounded slightly vs. 2023, they remain muted compared to 2021 and 2022.

IPO timelines get delayed. From first funding to IPO, VC-backed companies that went public in 2024 waited a median of 7.5 years — 2 years longer than in 2022. Amid unfavorable market conditions, some late-stage players like Stripe and Databricks have resorted to raising additional equity funding or selling private shares in lieu of going public. This allows them to create liquidity for early investors and employees when the path to a public debut is rocky.

We dive into each trend below.

AI is eating VC

The 5 largest deals of the year all went to AI model and infrastructure players (led by Databricks’ $10B Series J, followed by a $6.6B round for OpenAI, two $6B rounds for xAI, and a $4B round for Anthropic). But the activity isn’t limited to the largest, most well-resourced AI players. 

Across the board, AI companies are capturing a higher share of deal volume — nearly one in 5 deals (17%) now go to AI companies, almost triple the share from 2015 (6%). AI deal volume remained above 4,000 for the fourth year in a row. 

The boom is providing tailwinds for every stage of the startup lifecycle, from early-stage companies — which take 3 out of 4 deals in AI — to startup exits. The AI M&A wave is in full force, with 2024’s 384 exits nearly rivaling the previous year’s record-high 397.

This trend will continue in 2025 as incumbents look to grab AI tech and talent and build end-to-end AI offerings. Get the full breakdown of what AI M&A means for corporate strategy in our Tech Trends 2025 report.

Q4'24 sees a funding rebound, up 53% QoQ to $86.2B

In Q4’24, the AI boom helped fuel a substantial rebound in global funding. The quarter’s funding tally reached $86.2B — a 2-year high, and an increase of 53% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ).

60% of that quarterly total, or $52B, came from mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+) — nearly tying Q1’21 (61%) for the highest share ever across venture. 

At the same time, quarterly deal volume steadily declined throughout 2024, including slipping below 6,000 in Q4’24 for the first time since 2016.

Aside from AI, venture dealmaking is in a drought

Global deal volume hits an 8-year low of 27K deals in 2024

Despite AI’s surge, most venture sectors face their worst dealmaking drought in nearly a decade, forcing investors to adjust their strategies. Many investors are taking a more selective and risk-off approach right now as they wait out macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical tensions.

Among major dealmaking countries and regions (those seeing 500+ deals per year), the slump was most pronounced in China (-33% YoY drop in deals), Canada (-27%), and Germany (-23%). 

However, several countries in Asia bucked the trend and notched slim YoY gains: Japan (+2%), India (+1%), and South Korea (+1%). These countries have invested heavily in developing their startup ecosystems and may be benefiting indirectly from investors diverting funds away from China.

AI and industrial automation are common themes among the fastest-growing tech markets

AI and industrial automation are at the center of some of the fastest-growing markets in tech.

We filtered CB Insights’ 1,400+ tech markets for those with at least 20 equity deals over the last 2 years, then singled out those with the strongest deal growth YoY in 2024.

The fastest-growing tech markets by deal growth revolve around AI and industrial automation

The enterprise tech and industrials sectors dominate, comprising 9 of the top 10 tech markets. Advancements in generative AI are fueling much of the activity in areas like humanoid robots and autonomous driving systems. Investors are also backing tech companies improving industrial processes like water treatment and purification, with deals to the market more than doubling YoY.

The enterprise tech and industrials sectors are also seeing a wave of hiring, as they lead in YoY headcount growth among all sectors. Industrials markets saw an average of 11% headcount growth last year, followed by enterprise tech markets with 10%. 

Financial services and the consumer & retail industries are noticeably absent from the top 10 fastest-growing markets. Given the tough venture landscape, emerging technologies in these areas face an uphill battle.

Early-stage deals are showing strength

Globally, early-stage dealmaking represents one of the most vibrant areas of venture right now, with median deal size and valuation reaching all-time highs in 2024.

Early-stage deals show strength in 2024, with deal sizes and valuations reaching record highs

The seed/angel and Series A stages remain resilient despite the broader downturn, in part because investors view them as a safe haven to ride out late-stage challenges like constricted exit opportunities and capital constraints. Deal sizes and valuations for the mid- and late stages rebounded slightly vs. 2023 but were muted when compared to the boom times of 2021 and 2022.

Corporate strategy and development teams seeking out early-stage opportunities can see 900+ high-potential startups here. To identify these players, we looked at the nearly 11,000 VC-backed startups that raised seed or Series A rounds in 2024, then filtered for those with the healthiest businesses (600+ Mosaic score) and strongest management teams (600+ Management Mosaic score).

IPO timelines get delayed

VC-backed startups wait a median of 7.5 years from first funding to IPO in 2024

Most tech firms continue to shirk the IPO market. Some are still waiting for macroeconomic conditions to stabilize, while others prefer to focus on topline growth without having to deal with the financial scrutiny that comes with being a public company.

This is pushing back the timelines for IPO-ready companies even further. 

From first funding to IPO, VC-backed companies that went public in 2024 waited a median of 7.5 years — 2 years longer than in 2022.

While Q4’24 saw an uptick in global IPOs, activity remains down vs. historical levels. In the current climate, many late-stage startups will likely opt instead to raise more private funding to sustain operations and pay out employees or early investors.

Related resources from CB Insights:

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Venture Trends for 2025 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-venture-trends-q4-2024/ Thu, 19 Dec 2024 14:41:32 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=172474 The post Venture Trends for 2025 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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$1B+ Market Map: The world’s 1,249 unicorn companies in one infographic https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/unicorn-startups-valuations-headcount-investors/ Tue, 10 Dec 2024 22:00:30 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=164350 Becoming a unicorn remains a rare phenomenon in the startup world. Just 24 companies passed the $1B valuation threshold last quarter — a fraction of the 100+ unicorns minted each quarter from 2021 through early 2022. But the overall slowdown …

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Becoming a unicorn remains a rare phenomenon in the startup world. Just 24 companies passed the $1B valuation threshold last quarter — a fraction of the 100+ unicorns minted each quarter from 2021 through early 2022.

But the overall slowdown only tells part of the story. Within this smaller pool of new billion-dollar companies, AI startups have come to dominate, comprising 44% of new unicorns this year — a 7x increase in share over the last decade.

Here’s what today’s unicorn landscape signals about the future of tech:

  • AI dominates new unicorn creation — 2024 has seen 72 companies become unicorns, and 32 of these (44%) are AI startups. These AI players are reaching unicorn status far faster (median of 2 years) than non-AI companies (median of 9 years). As AI capabilities advance at a rapid pace — across domains from intelligent robotics to coding AI agents — corporations that delay AI adoption risk falling behind their competitors.
  • Valuations are under pressure — Over one-third of the 1,200+ current unicorns haven’t raised funding since 2021, and over 100 of these companies were last valued at exactly $1B — meaning a down round would take their unicorn status away altogether. These represent potentially distressed assets that cash-rich incumbents and corporate development teams would want to snap up.
  • Next in line for an exit — Among today’s unicorns, 110 stand out with IPO probabilities above 20% (anywhere from 31x to 64x that of the average company we track). Another 25 have equally high M&A probability scores, making them prime acquisition targets for incumbents looking to expand their tech and market reach.

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Market map of billion-dollar startups

Unicorn market map

On paper, today’s unicorns are collectively worth over $4T

However, it’s unlikely that many of these 1,200+ companies are worth as much as their latest valuation, given how dramatically the venture landscape has changed since the heady days of 2021/22. Since then, tighter capital markets have applied downward pressure on public and private tech company valuations alike.

Over one-third of current unicorns haven’t raised a funding round since 2021. If they were to raise in today’s climate, they’d likely face a valuation cut. That includes over 100 unicorns that were last valued at exactly $1B — meaning any valuation reduction would strip them of their unicorn status.

With venture funding at its lowest level since 2016/17, unicorns in need of cash are likely considering an exit. Some have been waiting years for the IPO market to open up so they can access capital and compensate employees without further diluting their business. Others will need to accept sales at discounted prices.

Unicorns most likely to exit via IPO or M&A

The 110 unicorns most likely to IPO next, alongside 25 unicorns most likely to get acquired next

Per CB Insights’ Exit Probability scores — which measure a company’s likelihood to exit in the next 2 years, based on 70+ data points — a select cohort of unicorns emerges as the most likely candidates for IPO and M&A. 

110 unicorns have a 20% or higher chance of IPO’ing in the next 2 years — anywhere from 31x to 64x the likelihood of the average company we track. Recent tech IPOs have performed well relative to the cold snap of 2022/23, particularly for companies benefiting from the AI boom. This will likely open the doors to other IPO hopefuls like Klarna, which is reportedly considering debuting as soon as H1’25.

A smaller segment of unicorns has an M&A exit probability of 20%+ (from 2x to 5x the average). This includes unicorns like AI data company Tresata (38% M&A probability) and fleet management & telematics provider Radius (33%), both of which have faced headcount reductions over the last year.

These acquisition targets could offer incumbents a way to quickly add new tech and talent as well as expand their customer base and market reach.

AI has become a unicorn factory

The current AI boom is a driving force behind new unicorn creation. 

AI share of total unicorns year-over-year

In 2024 so far, 44% of new unicorns have been AI companies. This is by far the highest share that AI has seen over the past decade, representing over 7x growth during that time (from 6% in 2015).

What’s more, these AI startups are hitting unicorn status with 1) much smaller teams and 2) at much faster rates.

Among new unicorns in 2024, the median AI unicorn has just 203 employees and reached unicorn status in 2 years from its founding date. For comparison, the median non-AI company to become a unicorn did so with double the team size (414 employees) and a much longer life-span (9 years).

New AI unicorns are passing the $1B+ threshold far faster and with far smaller teams

The size of these AI teams — and the speed with which they attain unicorn status — points to several underlying factors. For one, today’s AI startups may be able to do more with less — they can use their AI expertise to automate certain functions and scale faster with less staffing than a non-AI company. 

But there’s a likely bigger factor at play: With the current pace of AI advances, alongside the sheer amount of AI hype, AI startups are able to earn investors’ attention earlier and with less to show for their business than non-AI companies. The AI opportunity means many of these startups can bank on fast revenue growth, though it’s unclear how sustainable that is — or when, if ever, that revenue will translate into profit. 

Nevertheless, the breadth of the AI opportunity — across industries, business models, and audiences — means that there is still plenty of white space for these startups to carve out niches.

Among this year’s new unicorns, some of the smallest AI teams include:

  • World Labs: 18 employees (founded 2024, valued at $1B)
  • Skild AI: 19 employees (founded 2023, valued at $1.5B)
  • Sakana AI: 34 employees (founded 2023, valued at $1.5B)
  • Cognition AI: 49 employees (founded 2023, valued at $2B)
  • Poolside: 75 employees (founded 2023, valued at $3B)

Notably, these startups point to several emerging areas of opportunity in AI:

Intelligent robotics and embodied AI — Both World Labs and Skild AI are working toward making AI systems that can better understand and interact with the physical world. This is also an area where OpenAI is getting involved, via investments in other unicorns like Figure and Physical Intelligence.

Coding AI agents & copilots — Cognition AI and Poolside both focus on automating software engineering. Equity funding to coding AI agents & copilots has exploded this year, nearly tripling to reach $1.8B.

RELATED RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS:

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Tech Trends to Watch in 2025 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-tech-trends-2025/ Thu, 21 Nov 2024 21:00:38 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=171937 The post Tech Trends to Watch in 2025 appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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15 tech trends to watch closely in 2025 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/top-tech-trends-2025/ Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:43:16 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=172200 AI advances have ushered in a new wave of opportunity in tech. Our 2025 Tech Trends report provides a concrete roadmap for corporate leaders to navigate some of the most important technology shifts in the year ahead. We include specific …

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AI advances have ushered in a new wave of opportunity in tech.

Our 2025 Tech Trends report provides a concrete roadmap for corporate leaders to navigate some of the most important technology shifts in the year ahead.

We include specific recommendations for action so that business leaders can get ahead of the next wave of value creation.

15 TECH TRENDS TO WATCH CLOSELY IN 2025

Get the free report to see which tech markets and companies should be on your radar in the coming year.

Here is a selection of key findings from the report:

  • AI agents are given money to spend: AI agents’ utility is limited until they can make transactions seamlessly. A small group of tech players is building new infrastructure to make that happen.
  • The future data center arrives: With data center power usage expected to more than double by 2026, big tech companies are morphing into energy innovators to support AI workloads. There’s a huge opportunity in improving data centers’ energy efficiency.
  • Investment floodgates open for RNA therapeutics: RNA therapeutics developers are pioneering new ways to treat traditionally “undruggable” diseases, with a growing focus on neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.
  • AI M&A fuels the next wave of corporate strategy: AI’s share of corporate tech M&A has doubled since 2020. Tech incumbents like Nvidia, Salesforce, and Snowflake, as well as consultancies like Accenture, are rapidly acquiring AI startups to tap into enterprise demand. 
  • Disease management enters a new phase with AI: AI is improving care delivery across 3 key areas of disease management: precise symptom evaluation; testing/screening for earlier disease detection (including before symptoms even appear); and finding at-risk individuals in datasets of entire patient populations. 
  • Retail’s personalization imperative: Generative AI is unlocking 1:1 experiences across commerce touchpoints, with leaders like Target seeing a corresponding 3x boost in conversation rates. Personalization will become omnipresent in retailers’ offerings.
  • And much more
Methodology

Our analysis relies on a wide range of CB Insights datasets, including financing and acquisition data, valuations, founding team and key people data, earnings transcripts, and more. We also leverage CB Insights’ proprietary scoring algorithms to measure business health (Mosaic) and maturity (Commercial Maturity), as well as the likelihood of acquisition (M&A Probability score). Throughout the report, we provide CB Insights customers with jumping-off points to dig deeper into the data behind the report.

CB Insights Tech Trends 2025 Report

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The State of AI Q3’24: Emerging Trends https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-ai-trends-q3-2024/ Tue, 12 Nov 2024 19:34:03 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=171751 The post The State of AI Q3’24: Emerging Trends appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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The AI data center value chain: 12 high-momentum technologies powering the future of AI https://www.cbinsights.com/research/ai-data-center-value-chain-technologies/ Thu, 07 Nov 2024 16:49:59 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?p=171975 The AI surge is resulting in a massive data center buildout, with US companies set to spend over $1T on this infrastructure in the coming years, per Goldman Sachs estimates. Big tech players Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft spent $52.8B …

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The AI surge is resulting in a massive data center buildout, with US companies set to spend over $1T on this infrastructure in the coming years, per Goldman Sachs estimates. Big tech players Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft spent $52.8B alone on capex in Q2’24, up 60% year-over-year thanks to AI. 

This spending is creating opportunities for growth across the AI data center value chain.

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The generative AI in financial services market map https://www.cbinsights.com/research/generative-ai-financial-services-market-map/ Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:33:13 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?p=171964 Financial institutions stand to capture billions in value from generative AI across operations, customer service, and product development — but they face unique challenges in adoption, from regulatory compliance requirements to data security concerns. To help financial institutions identify genAI …

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Financial institutions stand to capture billions in value from generative AI across operations, customer service, and product development — but they face unique challenges in adoption, from regulatory compliance requirements to data security concerns.

Get the world’s best tech research in your inbox

Billionaires, CEOs, & leading investors all love the CB Insights newsletter

To help financial institutions identify genAI companies to pay attention to, we analyzed the genAI vendor landscape and mapped 55 companies serving financial services use cases across 14 markets. Key themes across the map include:

Want to see more research? Join a demo of the CB Insights platform.

If you’re already a customer, log in here.

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State of CVC Q3’24 Report https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/corporate-venture-capital-trends-q3-2024/ Thu, 31 Oct 2024 13:00:57 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=171901 In Q3’24, global CVC-backed funding fell 5% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to $15.7B — alongside a 10% decline in deals — as investors navigated persistent macroeconomic headwinds from global inflation pressures and elevated interest rates to China’s economic challenges. Despite these declines, …

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In Q3’24, global CVC-backed funding fell 5% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) to $15.7B — alongside a 10% decline in deals — as investors navigated persistent macroeconomic headwinds from global inflation pressures and elevated interest rates to China’s economic challenges.

Despite these declines, $100M+ mega-rounds comprised 51% of total CVC-backed funding in Q3’24, a notable increase from a quarterly average of 37% in 2023. Meanwhile, two-thirds of CVC deals this year have gone to early-stage companies, highlighting a strategic shift toward more emerging opportunities, especially in AI.

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Get 110+ pages of charts and data detailing the latest trends in corporate venture capital.

Based on our deep dive in the full report, here is the TL;DR on the state of CVC:

  • ​​Global CVC-backed funding drops 5% to $15.7B in Q3’24. Nevertheless, that figure is still the second-highest quarterly level since the beginning of 2023. Meanwhile, a 10% QoQ decline to 773 deals — the lowest total since 2018 — suggests that CVCs are increasingly selective, similar to the wider venture market.

Global CVC-backed funding drops 5% QoQ to $15.7B

  • The average CVC-backed deal size has increased 31% so far this year to $27.1M, highlighting investors’ willingness to take risks when they find the right opportunity. However, the median deal size remains the same as last year at $8M, signaling that investors are only more aggressive regarding the largest deals.

CVCs are more aggressive with the largest rounds as average CVC-backed deal size jumps 31%

  • Funding to CVC-backed mega-rounds (deals worth $100M+) represents 51% of total funding in Q3’24. This percentage — roughly in line with the first 2 quarters of 2024 — is up significantly from an average of 37% in 2023, further suggesting that investors are currently willing to make large bets when they decide to invest.
  • Early-stage rounds represent 66% of total CVC deal share this year, the highest level in over a decade. CVCs are increasingly focused on early-stage startups, likely driven by the record levels of AI funding and the fact that, across investor types, 72% of deals to AI companies this year are early-stage.

Early-stage deal share hits its highest level in over a decade among CVCs

  • CVC-backed funding in the US ticks up to $10.5B. Among major global regions, the US continued to lead in CVC-backed funding in Q3’24, followed by Europe at $2.6B and Asia at $1.3B. Within the US, defense tech provider Anduril raised the largest CVC-backed deal with its $1.5B Series F round (CVC investors include Franklin Venture Partners), followed by AI chip developer Groq with its $640M Series D round (backed by Samsung Catalyst).

MORE VENTURE RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS

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Tech Transforming the World: The Game Changers Roundtable https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-game-changers-2025/ Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:42:11 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=171397 The post Tech Transforming the World: The Game Changers Roundtable appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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State of AI Q3’24 Report https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/ai-trends-q3-2024/ Tue, 29 Oct 2024 13:00:04 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=171868 In Q3’24, global AI deal count skyrocketed 24% QoQ to reach 1,245 — its highest quarterly level since peaking in Q1’22. This contrasted sharply with activity in the broader venture sphere, where deal count fell by 10% QoQ to hit …

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In Q3’24, global AI deal count skyrocketed 24% QoQ to reach 1,245 — its highest quarterly level since peaking in Q1’22. This contrasted sharply with activity in the broader venture sphere, where deal count fell by 10% QoQ to hit its lowest level since 2016/2017.

While AI deals in Q3’24 included massive $1B+ rounds to defense tech provider Anduril and AI lab Safe Superintelligence, global AI funding actually dropped by 29% QoQ. This was driven by a 77% decline in funding from $1B+ AI rounds QoQ.

Based on our deep dive in the full report, here is the TL;DR on the state of AI:

  • Global AI deal count climbs 24% QoQ to reach 1,245 — its highest quarterly level since peaking in Q1’22. This bucked the trend in overall venture deals (-10% QoQ), signaling that investor interest in AI remains strong despite the broader cooling in venture markets. AI funding, on the other hand, fell by 29% QoQ to $16.8B, driven by a 77% decline in funding from $1B+ AI rounds QoQ. 

Global AI deal count climbs to 1,245 in Q3'24, marking a 24% increase QoQ

  • The average AI deal size is $23.5M in 2024 so far — up 28% vs. $18.4M in full-year 2023. This upward trend has been influenced by a rise in massive $1B+ deals, with AI startups drawing 9 of these deals in 2024 so far vs. 4 in full-year 2023. Top $1B+ rounds in 2024 YTD include: 
    • xAI — $6B Series B at a $24B valuation
    • Anthropic — $2.8B Series D at an $18.4B valuation
    • Anduril — $1.5B Series F at a $14B valuation
    • G42 — $1.5B investment from Microsoft
    • CoreWeave — $1.1B Series C at a $19B valuation

These deals aren’t solely responsible for pushing up the average — the median AI deal size is up 9% in 2024 so far.

  • AI unicorn births more than double QoQ to reach 13 — 54% of the broader venture total in Q3’24. Generative AI continues to be a key theme for new unicorns (private companies reaching $1B+ valuations). More than half of the AI unicorns born in Q3’24 are genAI startups, and they are working across a variety of areas — including AI for 3D environments (World Labs), code generation (Codeium), and legal workflow automation (Harvey).

Among new genAI unicorns in Q3’24, Safe Superintelligence — co-founded by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever — landed the most sizable valuation. The AI lab was valued at $5B after raising a $1B Series A round in September 2024.

In Q3'24, AI unicorn births jump to 13 — more than half of the broader venture total

  • AI M&A exits fall by 48% QoQ to hit 62 in Q3’24. The deals that did occur showcase how enterprises are strategically scooping up AI startups to improve their offerings and maintain a competitive edge. For example, the largest AI M&A deal in Q3’24 was AMD’s acquisition of AI lab Silo AI, which could help the semiconductor company enhance the development and deployment of AI models on its hardware. Meanwhile, Salesforce picked up unstructured data management startup Zoomin to support its AI agent offerings.

AI M&A exits drop by 48% QoQ in Q3'24

  • Among major global regions, the US continues to lead in AI funding and deals. AI startups based in the US drew $11.4B across 566 deals in Q3’24, accounting for over two-thirds of global AI funding and 45% of global AI deals. Within the US, Silicon Valley still dominates AI funding and deals, but other metros are gaining ground. In Q3’24, Los Angeles and New York saw their AI deal counts rise QoQ while Silicon Valley watched its count drop for the second quarter straight.

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ADDITIONAL AI RESEARCH FROM CB INSIGHTS:

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Meet the 2024 Fintech 100: The World’s Most Promising Startups https://www.cbinsights.com/research/briefing/webinar-fintech-100-2024/ Thu, 24 Oct 2024 13:57:50 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=briefing&p=171319 The post Meet the 2024 Fintech 100: The World’s Most Promising Startups appeared first on CB Insights Research.

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Fintech 100: The most promising fintech startups of 2024 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/top-fintech-startups-2024/ Thu, 24 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.cbinsights.com/research/?post_type=report&p=171781 CB Insights has unveiled the seventh annual Fintech 100 (previously the Fintech 250) — a list of the 100 most promising private fintech companies in the world. For companies interested in the future of fintech, these startups — working on …

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CB Insights has unveiled the seventh annual Fintech 100 (previously the Fintech 250) — a list of the 100 most promising private fintech companies in the world.

For companies interested in the future of fintech, these startups — working on everything from deploying novel AI solutions across the landscape to expanding access to financial services — should be on your radar for partnership and investment opportunities.

The list primarily includes early- and mid-stage startups driving innovation across fintech. Our research team picked winning companies based on CB Insights datasets, including deal activity, industry partnerships, team strength, investor strength, employee headcount, and proprietary Commercial Maturity and Mosaic scores. We also dug into Analyst Briefings submitted directly to us by startups.

Please click to enlarge.

Fintech 100 2024 map: Lending, wealth management, compliance and risk management, data extraction, embedded finance, workflow automation, banking, insurance, sustainability enablement, financial management and accounting, cryptocurrency and blockchain, payment acceptance, spend management, fraud detection and prevention, cross-border payments, payroll, capital markets

Here is a summary of the 2024 Fintech 100 cohort highlights:

  • The 100 winners include 13 wealth management companies, 11 in embedded finance, and 10 in insurance.
  • $7.2B in equity funding raised over time, including more than $2B in 2024 so far (as of 10/23/2024).
  • Nearly 50% are early-stage companies (primarily seed/angel or Series A).
  • 52 companies from outside the United States, across 23 countries on 6 continents. This includes 17 companies from 11 emerging and developing economies.
  • 850+ business relationships since 2022, including with industry leaders like Mastercard, State Street, and Flipkart.

Companies are categorized by their primary focus area and client base. Categories in the market map are not mutually exclusive.

CB Insights customers can interact with the entire Fintech 100 list here and view a detailed category breakdown using the Expert Collection.

2024 FINTECH 100 COHORT HIGHLIGHTS

Funding and valuations

The 2024 Fintech 100 winners have raised $7.2B across 370+ disclosed equity deals to date (as of 10/23/2024).

Gaming payments company Coda Payments and rent rewards company Bilt Rewards lead all winners in disclosed equity funding (with $715M and $560M in funding, respectively). 

In 2024 so far, this year’s winners have raised just over $2B across 72 disclosed equity deals.

 

2024 funding tops $2B for Fintech 100 winners

Three winners have raised mega-rounds ($100M+ deals) in 2024 so far: 

  • Bilt Rewards — $200M Series C, $150M Series C – II
  • Akur8 — $120M Series C
  • FundGuard — $100M Series C

Just 5 companies on this year’s list have reached unicorn status (a $1B+ valuation). Amid the broader venture slowdown, just one winner has hit unicorn status in 2024 so far: Pennylane, a France-based financial management and accounting platform for businesses.

Stage breakdown and commercial maturity

Nearly half — 48 — of this year’s Fintech 100 winners are early-stage companies (primarily seed/angel or Series A).

More than 60% of the companies on the list (62) have a CB Insights Commercial Maturity score — which measures a private company’s current ability to compete for customers or serve as a partner — of 4, or Scaling. This indicates they are gaining market traction and growing clients, partners, headcount, and revenue. 

Twenty-six winners have a score of 3, or Deploying, which means they have validated ideas and are beginning commercial distribution.

Top investors

Plug and Play Ventures leads all venture capital (VC) firms, including CVC firms, in the number of winners backed. The 2024 Fintech 100 companies in its portfolio operate across financial management and accounting (Finally), capital markets (FundGuard), payment acceptance (AiFi, Fintoc), banking (Tuum), wealth management (Boldin), and payroll (WorkPay). 

Meanwhile, General Catalyst leads in the total number of investments in the 2024 Fintech 100, as it has invested 13 times across 6 companies. It has invested in Bilt Rewards, financial management & accounting firm Collective, alternative credit scoring company Nova Credit, cross-border payments platform Finom, student loan management platform Summer, and AI agent Powder.

2024 Fintech 100: Top 5 venture investors (by disclosed number of winners backed)

Geographic distribution

Just over half (52) of this year’s Fintech 100 winners are based outside of the United States. The United Kingdom leads all non-US countries with 12 winners, and Canada and Singapore are tied for second with 6 companies each. 

Seventeen companies on this year’s list come from 11 emerging and developing economies (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kenya, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Thailand, and Uruguay). Many of these winners are focused on solutions driving financial inclusion and accessibility for groups like small businesses and consumers building their credit.

Headcount growth

This year’s Fintech 100 winners collectively employ more than 18,000 people. Median year-over-year headcount growth is more than 30%.

Bilt leads all winners with $3.1M in equity funding per employee. Embedded finance company Brim Financial, blockchain company Fnality, and Coda Payments are tied for second with $1.6M per employee.

2024 Fintech 100: Top companies by equity funding per employee

Company health

Eighty-three of this year’s winning companies have a CB Insights Mosaic score — a proprietary measure of private company health and growth potential — of at least 700 out of 1,000 (as of 10/23/24). Compared to all private companies — fintechs or otherwise — with Mosaic scores, these 83 winners rank in the top 4% by Mosaic score. 

Bilt Rewards leads the cohort with a score of 952. Nova Credit and Arta are tied for second with 883.

Winners deploy AI across a variety of use cases

AI’s dominance in the venture market and broader tech conversations is reflected in this year’s Fintech 100 cohort. 

Several winners have developed AI solutions to automate financial services operations. For example, Alkymi and Saphyre are among the handful of companies using AI to analyze and extract data from financial documents.

But winners are also deploying AI within specific financial services sectors, including embedded finance, compliance, and insurance.

For instance, Gynger uses AI and data analytics to quickly approve and underwrite financing. The company is backed by PayPal Ventures and Google’s AI-focused venture arm Gradient Ventures

Meanwhile, Norm Ai offers AI agents for compliance teams, enabling them to assess content or actions against regulatory requirements. The company raised a $27M Series A round in June 2024 from investors including Bain Capital Ventures and Citi Ventures.

Delos Insurance Solutions, on the other hand, issues property insurance and analyzes satellite data using AI to identify areas with greater wildfire risk. Its founders’ backgrounds in the space industry inform their approach to data gathering via satellite.

Delos Insurance: Key people

Fintechs gear solutions toward financial inclusion and accessibility

Many of this year’s winners are focused on making financial services and technology more accessible to growing customer segments. 

Small businesses are a focus worldwide. This year’s list includes solutions like Sequoia Capital– and Founders Fund-backed Found, which offers banking for self-employed people and small business owners. Meanwhile, Pakistan-based NayaPay offers financial management for consumers as well as small businesses. Singapore-based YouTrip also has both B2C and B2B platforms for cross-border payments, focusing its B2B services on small businesses in southeast Asia. 

Companies in this year’s cohort are also targeting consumers building their financial profiles and wealth. US-based MAJORITY allows individuals to get banked in the US without social security numbers. OTO, meanwhile, offers loans for electric bike and scooter purchases in India. Banks are hesitant to finance the purchases despite strong government support for the vehicles, so the massive consumer market is turning to fintechs.

Meanwhile, companies like Bilt Rewards and CheQ are helping consumers manage their credit and build toward major purchases in different ways. Bilt converts rent payments into points that can be redeemed toward a down payment on a home, and it can also send renters’ on-time payment reports to credit bureaus. 

In India, where credit cards have lower penetration but are growing quickly, CheQ helps consumers pay off all of their credit cards and earn rewards on one digital platform. It aims to support users who are new to the credit system and offers free credit reports and tips on managing credit. The company recently announced a partnership with India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart to enable consumers to earn extra points on purchases during Flipkart’s sale event.

 

CheQ partners with India's e-commerce leader to help shoppers build rewards

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