U.S. Megarounds Anchor North America’s Venture Rebound in Q3 2025
A surge of late-stage AI and hardtech deals pushed North America’s startup funding to its strongest quarter since 2022.
• North American startups raised $63.1 billion in Q3 2025, 38% higher than the same period last year.
• The U.S. accounted for most of that total, with around 70% of its annual funding now going to $100 million-plus rounds worth $157 billion.
• AI companies took 57% of regional investment, led by Anthropic’s $13 billion round.
• Late-stage deals reached $42.9 billion, while seed funding declined by 25%.
Venture capital is finally steadying itself, and North America is the market showing what a real rebound looks like. The mood isn’t euphoric as investors are still cautious, but at least they’re moving again, and the United States is the reason why.
Over the past year, the country has become the gravitational center of global venture funding. Billion-dollar rounds in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing have turned the U.S. into both the anchor and the accelerant of the recovery.
Across the region, startups raised $63.1 billion in Q3 2025, a 38% jump from a year ago and roughly in line with the previous quarter. Deal volume, however, moved in the opposite direction, slipping slightly to about 2,200 rounds. Investors are also clearly writing fewer checks but for far larger amounts.
So far this year, U.S. startups have absorbed about $157 billion through megarounds. OpenAI’s $40 billion financing, backed by SoftBank, accounts for nearly a quarter of that figure. Money is consolidating at the top, reshaping what growth looks like for everyone else.
MORE INSIGHTS ON THIS TOPIC:
- Europe’s venture market finds its strength in early-stage and AI funding in Q3 2025
- Asia’s startup funding climbs in Q3 2025 thanks to AI and hardtech deals
- China’s AI stock boom is outpacing the U.S., but can it last?
Why is capital concentrating in AI and hardtech?
Artificial intelligence isn’t the whole venture story, but it runs through nearly every major round this year. Investors have shifted from backing new applications to funding the physical and computational backbone that powers them, like chips, data systems, robotics, and quantum labs.
AI-related startups in North America raised $35.7 billion in Q3 2025, nearly double the total from a year earlier. Anthropic’s $13 billion round set the pace, with Cerebras Systems bringing in $1.1 billion, and both Figure AI and PsiQuantum crossing the billion-dollar mark. These are not experiments, but are large-scale infrastructure projects, and the capital chasing them reflects that scale.
Venture capital has always followed scarcity. There are only a few companies capable of training frontier models, building custom chips, or operating data centers at global capacity. Investors are betting heavily on that small circle. The result is a funding map that looks narrower but deeper, with money flowing to the parts of the ecosystem most likely to endure global competition.
Late-stage deals outweigh early ambition
If most of the capital is flowing to mature companies, what happens to the rest of the market? Late-stage and growth rounds absorbed $42.9 billion in Q3 2025, the third-highest total this year. These are companies with tangible progress and recurring customers. In a cautious market, that kind of certainty carries a premium.
Early-stage funding reached $15.6 billion, its strongest showing in five quarters, but the number of deals keeps shrinking. Many of the largest early rounds are being raised by firms that already operate like late-stage players. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, founded in 2017, raised $863 million in a Series B2 that looked more like an expansion round than a startup raise.
Seed funding remains under pressure, totaling $4.6 billion, down 25% from Q2 2025. This imbalance shows how risk capital is being redefined. Investors prefer to back companies with proven depth, leaving new founders to face longer and more uncertain fundraising cycles.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
Canada and Mexico ride the spillover
The pattern starts in the U.S. but extends beyond it. Canada’s ecosystem is gaining ground in quantum computing, AI safety, and clean energy, supported by partnerships with global tech investors. The standout was Quantinuum’s $600 million Nvidia-backed round, which underscored Canada’s growing strength in research-driven technologies.
Further south, Mexico’s funding scene is smaller but increasingly visible. Fintech and e-commerce attract steady attention, driven by digital adoption and the growth of remittance-based payment systems. Mexico is positioning itself as a bridge between U.S. capital and Latin American consumer markets, testing ideas that can scale regionally.
Together, both markets show that North America’s funding resilience is broader than it appears. The U.S. sets the tone, but its neighbors are learning to move in step, building complementary strengths that add depth to the regional story.
Exits and the bigger picture
With funding up, the next question is whether liquidity is following. For now, it is. Figma’s IPO in July became one of the quarter’s defining moments, reaching a $26 billion valuation after its Nasdaq debut. Netskope, Firefly Aerospace, and StubHub also completed successful listings, while private buyers like Atlassian and OpenAI led billion-dollar acquisitions.
These exits show that the cycle is functioning again. Liquidity is returning, giving investors confidence to reinvest and helping startups benchmark what a viable path to success looks like. The health of this market depends not just on how much capital it attracts, but on how well that capital circulates.
Even so, concentration risk remains. Much of North America’s strength rests on a small cluster of deeptech and AI firms whose valuations anchor the ecosystem. If those companies keep performing, 2026 could extend the current upcycle. If they stumble, the correction will ripple fast and wide.
Conclusion
North America’s venture market has regained stability by focusing rather than stretching. The United States remains its core, driven by scale and technological maturity. Canada and Mexico add texture to that story, strengthening the region’s relevance in quantum, fintech, and applied AI.
The exuberance of 2021 is gone, though, replaced by discipline. Investors are writing fewer checks but doing more due diligence. Startups are being built to last, not to exit. The next phase of venture capital will not be defined by how many companies get funded, but by how many can endure once they are.
Kelechi Edeh
