Our October monthly report is dedicated to analyzing current trends in venture financing. We examine the activities of the largest and most experienced firms — the technologies and sectors they support, and the types of investments they make. Current venture investment patterns reflect how major players perceive today’s venture market and how they forecast the future development of venture capital and technology.

We believe that our analysis will help venture investors and startup founders gain a deeper understanding of how leading companies view the present and future of venture finance and technology.

In October, we analyzed the investment rounds of 13 of the most prominent and influential venture investors, who together have backed more than 60% of all unicorns. In October 2025, these firms supported 20 new unicorns.

Our database includes 256 deals concluded or announced with the participation of these companies in October 2025 — approximately 6% of the total number of venture investments for the month.

Key indicators

The data on the number of deals (Rounds) continues to show a level below last year (-18% compared to October 2024, with 4,178 deals versus 5,100).

The share of new Pre-Seed / Seed rounds has declined on average to 25%, one of the lowest levels in recent years. Our analysis indicates that almost all Pre-Seed and Seed rounds focus on realizing the potential of AI technologies — projects that typically require highly skilled teams.

At the same time, later-stage rounds (Early, Late, Equity, etc.) have maintained numbers comparable to those in 2024. Moreover, against the backdrop of a declining Federal Reserve rate, a slight increase has been observed in both the number and volume of U.S. venture deals.

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Investments by round

In September, the top venture funds backed 38% of Pre-Seed / Incubator stage rounds and 18% of Seed stage rounds.

The total share of Pre-Seed, Incubator, and Seed rounds backed by major VC firms reached 56%.

The largest proportions of Pre-Seed and Seed rounds were observed in Media & Advertising (92%), AI Infrastructure (67%), and App & Software Development (71%).

Among startups supported by the largest venture funds, 96% at the Incubator / Pre-Seed stage have implemented or are currently implementing AI solutions.

AI technologies also dominate in later rounds, though to a slightly lesser extent: Seed – 85.3%, Early – 72.3%, and Late stage – 50%.

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ROUNDS BACKED BY MAJOR VC COMPANIES BY CATEGORY (10.2025)

AI INFRASTRUCTURE

In October, 33 funding rounds were directed toward projects supporting the development and practical application of artificial intelligence technologies.

The most notable startups include those preparing datasets for AI model training — Fixpoint (data annotation services), Reducto (transformation of unstructured text), and Spatial AI (AI datasets). We also observed experiments in creating platforms that enable users to develop their own AI agents, such as Mastra.

In October, five companies reached unicorn status, among them LangChain and Reflection AI — both offering platforms for building custom AI models and agents.

APP & SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

In October, 14 startup projects were backed, with almost all positioning themselves as AI-based. Most of these startups claim to integrate AI into the development or debugging of applications. Scott AI (Pre-Seed) announced the development of an AI capable of designing software without coding.

Among the two unicorns, we would like to highlight Supabase, which has implemented a modular, building-block approach to application development.

ENTERPRISE

This sector is the most focused on applied solutions for corporate clients. In September 2025, 36 projects (16% of the total) received support.

AI Platforms & Productivity Ecosystems startups aim to transform company workflows using AI technologies. The new unicorn Uniphore offers an enterprise cloud platform integrated with AI agents across multiple domains, including customer service, marketing, sales, and HR.

Business Process & Workflow Automation includes ready-to-deploy solutions that can be seamlessly integrated into corporate operations. We would like to highlight Mantle — an AI copilot for back-office functions such as CRM, email, calendar, payments, and product analytics. Another key player is the unicorn n8n, which provides deployment-ready integrations and AI modules for marketing, sales, security, and IT.

Security startups provide diverse solutions in risk prediction, assessment, prevention, and investigation. We would like to highlight Socratix AI (AI agents for fraud and risk investigations), as well as SafetyKit and Filigran, which focus on security testing and simulation. Sublime Security offers an AI-powered email protection solution, while the unicorn Chainguard delivers a fully secured software supply chain using verified open-source packages.

FINTECH

This sector is traditionally a key area for venture capital (October – 19 startups). We consider of special interest Rogo Technologies, which provides a specialized AI product for investment banking (deal research, workflow automation, and insight extraction); ClaimSorted, which focuses on automating insurance claims processing; and FurtherAI, which offers a comprehensive insurance workflow solution, including underwriting, submission processing, SoV mapping, and loss run processing.

LEGAL

Improving operations in legal workflows through automation and decision support (11 startups in October).We would like to highlight EvenUp, a platform designed for firms specializing in personal injury claims, offering tools for claim drafting, medical documentation analysis, and workflow management.

Legora secured its second funding round since summer 2025 and has now become a unicorn. The company specializes in document review, drafting, editing, research, and workflow automation.

MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

This is the most dynamic sector for new projects. Out of 268 projects, 26 use AI to generate complex and meaningful videos, analyze and improve search results, or support and evaluate marketing campaign performance.

We would like to highlight Dialogue AI and Strellas, which provide consumer research platforms covering study preparation, interviews, testing, insights, and analytics.

Among video and advertising startups, we would also like to mention a new company specializing in surreal and mind-bending video ads — Absurd.

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The detailed data on the company rounds is presented in the full report.

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DISCLAIMER: This report analyzes market trends and is not a source of definitive or complete data. Due to the dynamic nature of the market, it's impossible to provide 100% accurate, allencompassing data. Our research is based on the information we have gathered through different public sources, and it may be corrected as new data becomes available. Investing in startups is inherently challenging and carries significant risks. This report should not be construed as investment, tax, or legal advice. We are not making any recommendations. If you are considering starting a business or making venture investments, you should consult with qualified professionals, who can provide personalized and competent advice.

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