AI Venture Investing 2025: USA & Europe Enterprise & Healthcare AI Lead the Way
European Women in VC’s latest newsletter explores how the global AI funding boom is reshaping venture capital on both sides of the Atlantic. While U.S. investors are making massive, high-valuation bets, Europe remains more cautious. The issue also spotlights surging enterprise AI adoption, Big Tech’s intertwined capital loops, and healthcare’s rapid rise as a leading AI adopter.
Peter Walker of Carta shared new data on the top U.S. startup ecosystems, showing the Bay Area’s continued dominance with 41% of all startup capital and over half of all AI funding. The chart breaks down $104 billion in investments across metro areas and sectors, with New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, and Seattle rounding out the leading hubs.
When all money is green and every VC reads the same books and largely applies the same heuristics to markets, tech and founders… What really sets anyone apart? Origins podcast host and Asylum Ventures GP Nicholas Chirls makes the case that courage is the last remaining competitive advantage in venture.
The Most Frequent vs Most Important LP Conversations
Adam Marchick joins David Zhou to discuss how GPs often confuse the most frequent LP questions with the most important ones. Drawing on 20+ years as a founder, GP, and LP (including Emory’s $10B endowment), he shares how to communicate risk to new LPs, why trust and references outweigh pitch decks, and how conviction-driven portfolio construction follows the 80/20 rule.
GPs: How are you using your LPAC? As one of your most valuable resources, or a box you have to check? Screendoor’s latest piece reframes the role of the LPAC, not just as a group of institutional investors, but as a resourceful braintrust that can help you navigate tough calls and level up your fund management.
Eight years after becoming the first female GP at Benchmark, Sarah Tavel recently took on a new role as Venture Partner that allows her more time to fully immerse herself in AI, all while continuing to make new investments on behalf of Benchmark. She sat down with Beezer Clarkson and Nick Chirls to unpack her learnings over the past few months, including what it means to be truly AI native and what that means for AI tools and the people who use them.
Minisode: Can LPs Diversify in an AI-Obsessed World?
Beezer and Nick unpack their recent conversation with Sarah and discuss their takeaways from her recent decision to take a step back at Benchmark to fully focus on AI. They also discuss the current state of venture in light of this decade’s AI boom, and theorize where this will put the ecosystem in the future.
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Featuring Sapphire Partners
DATA ANALYSIS
Is Venture Broken? What 2,000+ Priced Early-Stage Rounds Tell Us About the State of Seed & Series A
As a team of LPs at Sapphire Partners and founders of OpenLP, this question is one we're hearing almost daily across the VC ecosystem. We set out to find an answer by digging into 3.5 years of PitchBook data. We also compiled the top 10 ranking of most active investors at Seed & A.
According to the Q3 Venture Monitor, 64% of all VC dollars this year have gone to AI & ML, even as sub-$5M rounds hit a decade low. The result? A market where a handful of companies capture most of the capital — while many founders face tougher fundraising conditions.
Mapping The Next Generation of Enterprise Software
Redpoint Ventures highlights 64 companies defining the next generation of enterprise software, as AI shifts from enabling work to performing it. Intelligent systems are transforming industries from healthcare to legal to customer support, while new pricing and go-to-market models signal that the application layer will drive the next decade of enterprise value creation.
Scott T. Slayton, CFA, Partner and Chief Strategist at Capital Creek Partners, believes we are in the foothills of an equity bubble fueled by AI, abundant liquidity, persistent price momentum, and promiscuous fiscal policy. He breaks down seven classic bubble signals (five already flashing), the anatomy of today’s bull market, and the behavioral shifts that could tip optimism into euphoria.
Startups and the Shutdown: When Your Primary Customer Folds Overnight
A prolonged U.S. government shutdown is creating serious challenges for startups that rely on federal contracts, grants, or approvals, especially in defense, climate, biotech, and AI. With payments frozen and key agencies stalled, founders face mounting cash pressure and uncertainty.
In 2025 So Far, 40% of VC Exit Value Stems from AI
AI is now the engine of venture: by Q3 2025 it accounted for 39.5% of U.S. deal count and 64.3% of deal value, and 40% of all VC exit value this year, per PitchBook. Researchers say AI is becoming foundational across the economy, though the IPO/M&A pipeline remains uneven—fueling debate over whether momentum reflects a true tech shift or a hype cycle.
Sequoia Partner Says There's Too Much Venture Capital and Not Enough Companies to Invest In
Roelof Botha argues that VC has become oversaturated. He describes today’s VC environment as a “return-free risk,” noting that to justify current levels of investment, the industry would need dozens more billion-dollar exits each year. His remarks highlight growing pressure on investors to prioritize quality and discipline amid inflated valuations and limited breakout opportunities..
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Nothing presented within this article is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Information provided reflects Sapphires’ views as of a time, whereby such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. No assumptions should be made that any investment listed above were or will be profitable. Various content and views contained within this article represent those of third party guests, which do not necessarily reflect the views of Sapphire. Such views are subject to change at any point and do not in any way represent official statements by Sapphire.Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in any statement made. Nothing contained in this article may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular company. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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