April Marks One of the Slowest Months for Venture Funding

Venture funding around the world totaled $23 billion in April 2025. While this matches the amount raised in April 2024, it’s a major drop from the $68 billion invested in March. The sharp decline marks one of the slowest months for startup funding over the past year.

The strong numbers in March were largely driven by a record-breaking $40 billion investment in OpenAI, the largest private deal ever recorded.

AI Leads the Way in Venture Funding

Artificial intelligence continues to dominate venture funding trends. In April, AI companies raised roughly $7 billion, accounting for 30% of all global funding.

The largest individual deal also went to an AI company—Safe Superintelligence, an AI research firm co-founded by former OpenAI scientist Ilya Sutskever. It secured $2 billion at a $32 billion valuation, gaining $27 billion in value in just seven months.

Other well-funded sectors in April included:

• Healthcare and Biotech: $4.1 billion
• Financial Services: $3.8 billion
• Security, Solar, Transportation, Energy, and Space: Several notable rounds

U.S. Startups Secure Most Venture Funding

Startups based in the United States led globally, attracting $14 billion in venture funding—about 62% of the total. That’s up from 56% in 2024, showing continued investor preference for U.S.-based startups.

Other top countries included:

• China: $1.7 billion
• United Kingdom & India: Just over $800 million each

Active Investors and Funding Stages

Several major investors were active in April. Firms like Insight Partners, Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, and Khosla Ventures led numerous venture rounds.

The biggest private deals involved large investments from Greenoaks, Franklin Templeton, General Atlantic, and Accel.

Breakdown by funding stage:

• Seed Stage: 10% of total venture funding
• Early Stage (Series A & B): 37%
• Late Stage (Series C and beyond): 53%

Market Uncertainty Clouds Outlook

Despite some standout deals, the broader venture funding market remains uncertain. Economic instability, rising U.S. tariffs, and growing trade tensions are making investors more cautious.

Without another mega-deal like OpenAI’s March funding, the April slowdown could signal more caution ahead as the second quarter progresses.

Funding Data Notes

All funding values are in U.S. dollars. Foreign investments are converted using the exchange rate on the date the funding occurred. Data reflects activity reported as of May 2, 2025.

Early-stage data may increase over time, as seed and pre-seed rounds are often reported with delays.