The total number of venture capital deals with disclosed funding rounds announced globally fell by around “3% during the first half (H1) of 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year.”
An analysis of the various funding rounds in H1 2025 “presents a mixed picture for global VC deal activity.”
Early-stage funding, encompassing Seed and Series A rounds, “continues to dominate the VC landscape, albeit with a slight contraction in numbers in H1 2025 compared to H1 2024.”
Meanwhile, growth and late-stage funding rounds have “shown some resilience,” according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.
Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments:
“While early-stage rounds have seen a decline, the increase in growth and late-stage rounds suggests a strategic pivot among investors. This overall reduction in early-stage funding highlights the cautious approach investors are adopting when investing in nascent startups. Meanwhile, the improvement in growth and late-stage funding rounds indicates that investors are willing to back mature companies that have demonstrated growth potential.”
An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database revealed that “the total number of early-stage funding rounds declined by 4% in H1 2025 compared to H1 2025.”
The number of Seed rounds announced globally “decreased by around 6% in H1 2025 compared to H1 2024, while Series A rounds also experienced a YoY decline of around 3%.”
These two rounds collectively accounted for “around 80% of the total number of VC deals with disclosed funding rounds announced globally in H1 2025.”
Meanwhile, the number of growth and late-stage funding rounds increased by around “3% in H1 2025 compared to H1 2024.”
Within growth and late-stage rounds, notably, “the number of Series D rounds increased by 28% YoY in H1 2025.”
The growth and late-stage funding rounds collectively “accounted for around 20% share of the total number of VC deals with disclosed funding rounds announced globally during H1 2025.”
Bose adds:
“This shift indicates a potential pivot in investor strategy, favoring established businesses over nascent startups amidst economic uncertainty. The increase in growth and late-stage funding rounds also indicates that investors are strategically reallocating their resources, prioritizing quality over quantity in their portfolios, reflecting a maturation of the VC landscape.”
As noted in the update, 4,000 of the world’s companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, reportedly “make timelier and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s data, analysis and solutions, all in one platform.”
GlobalData claims that its mission is to help clients “decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.”