US Venture Capital Report for December 2025
In December 2025, the US venture capital market showed a slowdown at the end of the year, with total financing of $15.4 billion across 521 deals. Compared to November's $18.2 billion, this represents a month-over-month decline of 15.4%; compared to $18.1 billion in December 2024, it is a year-over-year decline of 14.9%. This decline is consistent with typical year-end patterns, as some investors complete their annual deployment cycles and some companies delay announcing funding news until early 2026.
Despite the decline in total financing, deal activity in December remained healthy, with investments across all stages remaining active. Notably, the artificial intelligence sector stood out, with 262 AI companies raising a total of $10.4 billion, accounting for 67.6% of the month's total financing.
Key Data Overview
Total Financing: $15.4 billion
Number of Deals: 521
Month-over-Month Change: -15.4% (vs. $18.2 billion in November)
Year-over-Year Change: -14.9% (vs. $18.1 billion in December 2024)
AI Share: 67.6% (AI financing of $10.4 billion)
Financing Distribution by Stage
| Stage | Amount | Share | Number of Deals | Average Deal Size | Median Deal Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Stage | $1.54 billion | 10.0% | 309 | $5 million | $1 million |
| Series A | $1.65 billion | 10.7% | 99 | $16.7 million | $10 million |
| Series B | $3.57 billion | 23.1% | 70 | $50.9 million | $20 million |
| Late Stage | $8.65 billion | 56.2% | 43 | $201.2 million | $77 million |
Late-stage financing dominated, accounting for 56.2% of the total amount despite comprising less than 10% of the deal count. This was mainly due to Databricks' $4 billion mega-round, which accounted for 26% of the month's total.### Top 10 Funding Cases in December
| Company | Industry | Location | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Databricks | Analytics/AI | San Francisco | $4B | Late Stage |
| Saviynt | AI/Cybersecurity | El Segundo | $700M | Series B |
| Unconventional AI | Artificial Intelligence | San Francisco | $470M | Early Stage |
| Fervo Energy | Renewable Energy | Houston | $460M | Late Stage |
| Castelion | Aerospace/Defense | Torrance | $350M | Series B |
| Erebor | Fintech/Blockchain | Columbus | $350M | Late Stage |
| Lovable | AI/Developer Tools | Dover | $330M | Series B |
| Boom Supersonic | Aerospace | Centennial | $300M | Series B |
| Radiant | Clean Energy | El Segundo | $300M | Late Stage |
| Eon | Cloud Data Services | New York | $300M | Late Stage |
AI Investment Continues to Dominate
AI companies raised $10.4B in funding, accounting for 67.6% of December's total, with 262 deals representing 50.3% of all transactions. AI investment was not concentrated in a few large deals but was widely distributed across stages, indicating that AI has become a foundational component of modern startups.
Geographic Distribution
The San Francisco Bay Area remains the venture capital hub, but other regions also performed well: Fervo Energy ($460M) in Houston, Erebor ($350M) in Columbus, Boom Supersonic ($300M) in Colorado, among others. New York City also showed strong performance, with Eon's $300M funding reflecting its traditional strengths in fintech, enterprise software, and health tech.
Market Outlook
December's moderate close sets a baseline for venture capital activity in 2026. The sustained deal flow across stages indicates a functioning market, but the concentration of AI investment presents both opportunities and risks. Market participants will watch whether the pace of mega-funding rounds continues in Q1 2026 and whether the concentration of AI investment shifts.### 📊 About This Report
This report is based on venture capital activity for U.S. startups in December 2025, as recorded by Crunchbase. Funding amounts are categorized into four stages: Early Stage (Seed, Angel), Series A, Series B, and Late Stage (Series C and beyond). All data represent disclosed amounts and may not include undisclosed rounds or partial debt financing.
Data Source: Crunchbase | Analysis: AlleyWatch