The idea of a new normal in startup funding presupposes that there once was an old normal. But of course there was none.
The only real consistency of the asset class is that it is reliable and volatile. Sectors that are popular one year are popular a few quarters later. Angel syndicates must increasingly compete with venture capital bigwigs. And the founders who get the biggest rounds can’t assume more capital is on the way.
For 2025, the seed investment environment showed its typical quirkiness, with a few trends emerging. In particular, it was a huge year for huge touring. As might be expected, it was also a record time for AI deal-making. And in terms of geographic trends, we saw the United States attracting a larger than usual share of total investment.
Below, we examine each of these trends in more detail.
No. 1: A huge year for huge tours
The concept of a very small seed tower is rather retro. Today, eight- and nine-figure funding rounds are quite common, especially for a startup with highly regarded founders, expertise in a hot industry, and an early technological advantage.
For 2025, investors have backed nearly 700 startup rounds of $10 million or more, according to Crunchbase data. This puts this category on track to reach an all-time high.
It was also a banner year for some really, really huge seed rounds. By this we mean funding of $100 million or more – once unheard of, but now not so rare.
We have kept all the data from these agreements with American startups for simpler control. But even with that limit, the total was enormous: exceeding $3.6 billion this year, a new record.
However, keep in mind that most of the increase is due to a single round. It was the $2 billion in seed funding For Thinking Machine Laboratorythe AI startup co-founded by the former OpenAI Technical Director Mira Murati. This month, another giant deal also boosted the totals, a $475 million financing for Unconventional AIwhich designs a computer to optimize the energy efficiency of AI.
No. 2: Another record year for AI
Seed investors have been pouring money into AI startups at a more exuberant pace than last year, which was already a record. So far, for 2025, more than 42% of all global startup funding has gone to companies in industry categories focused on artificial intelligence, according to data from Crunchbase. This represents an increase from 30% in 2024.
The numbers have also increased. Just over $15 billion was spent on AI-focused startup rounds this year, according to Crunchbase, an increase of about 50% from 2024. Below, we look at the total and share of AI investments over the past six years.
No. 3: Half of seed funding goes to American companies
In addition to pouring money into AI, investors have also increasingly focused their bets on U.S.-based companies.
U.S. startups have raised nearly $18 billion in total seed funding so far this year, accounting for about half of all global seed investments, according to data from Crunchbase. This is the largest share in years.
As you can see in the chart below, US startups have generated well over 40% of all seed investments in each of the last six years. But 2025 is the only year where that figure is just under half. We can point to the giant AI seed rounds mentioned above as a differentiator.
A robust year that oversized the notion of seed
Overall, we can view 2025 as a robust year for seed spending, but also a period of increased consolidation among perceived early winners.
Given that venture capital returns depend largely on a handful of huge winning bets, it’s not shocking to see investors coalesce around the few new entrants who seem best positioned to make them happen. Still, this disrupts a bit the classic idea of the seed round as a small bet on a promising founding team.
As always, we want the newest class of seed-funded startups to grow. However, for many, they won’t have much other choice, as a quick, modest exit isn’t an option when you’re already at a nine or ten figure valuation.
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Illustration: Dom Guzman
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