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| The Daily Pitch |
| PE, VC and M&A |
| Your edge on global private capital markets |
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Our annual deep-dive into the US venture market is here, and it's chock-full of insights into how artificial intelligence is driving the market.
• AI accounted for over 65% of annual deal value in 2025, or $222 billion, driven by a handful of mega-deals.
• The growth in AI deals and valuations is reshaping portfolios: AI companies now account for nearly 40% of the US VC market value.
• A combination of opportunity and FOMO drove corporate investors to participate in 68% of AI deals by value, a record.
The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor is sponsored by J.P. Morgan, Dentons and EisnerAmper. |
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| 2025 IPO boom wasn't enough to solve VCs' problems |
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By Kyle Stanford, Director of US Venture Research
US VC-backed exits totaled nearly $300 billion in value during 2025, nearly double 2024's total—but making it only the fourth-highest value in the past decade, according to our latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.
VCs expected 2025 to finally bring back significant liquidity, which it delivered to a point. While total value did increase, the uncertainty created by the new US tariffs and the government shutdown in early Q4 put a damper on the year's IPO count.
The number of completed listings barely surpassed the prior couple of years. And by year's end, only a small pipeline of companies had begun the registration process, not the long line of candidates the industry would hope for. |
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The aggregate value of unicorns has jumped to $4.3 trillion, further straining the problem. The ongoing lack of liquidity comes after years of robust fundraising by VCs, fueled by growing private market valuations.
But with returns remaining unrealized, LPs are left waiting and wishing. The impact of the overall lack of liquidity is obvious: 2025 recorded the lowest VC fundraising total since 2018.
On the other hand, M&A generated the second-highest annual exit value in the past decade, which is a positive sign. M&A has faced challenges from regulators over the past few years—while scrutiny and tension haven't relaxed as much as investors hoped, corporations are finding new ways to circumvent those legal challenges.
Nvidia's $20 billion acquisition of Groq took the form of a non-exclusive licensing agreement, rather than a full incorporation of the company.
Other tech giants like Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft had previously used similarly structured transactions to acquire highly sought-after talent and tech from VC-backed companies, proving that corporates aren't afraid to get creative with their purchases. |
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• Westwood Holdings Group has raised over $300 million to acquire stakes in energy funds—exceeding its target of $150 million for its second secondaries fund, which launched in late 2024. Find out more
• Fintech investment firm Portage is taking over a $280 million portfolio of startup investments from Point72 Ventures, becoming the lead investor in a continuation fund. Read more
• Nearly 60% of UK companies are open to teaming up with PE investors this year, with the highest appetite coming from travel companies and tech specialists, according to a survey by growth investor ECI Partners. Go deeper |
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| Q&A: Inside JP Morgan's 2026 healthcare conference |
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| Union Square, San Francisco (Gonzalo Azumendi/Getty Images) |
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By Kia Kokalitcheva, Senior Editor, Venture Capital
This week, San Francisco's Union Square is overflowing with investors, entrepreneurs, bankers and executives who have gathered for JP Morgan's annual healthcare conference.
We caught up with Ben Zercher, PitchBook senior biotech and pharma analyst, and Brian Wright, healthcare lead analyst, about the notable conference themes and chatter. The interviews were combined and edited for clarity and length.
Which healthcare subsectors are getting the most real investor interest?
Ben Zercher: I would say AI drug discovery continued to dominate a lot of the private market conversations. Those sessions were well attended. Lots of interest in getting clinical readouts to back up the funding that they've received over the past year.
Which metrics or proof points do VCs now require that they weren't emphasizing a couple of years ago?
Zercher: Clinical readouts. The Series A [profile] has changed so fundamentally, where that used to be a preclinical company, but now, companies are raising Series A [rounds] with Phase III-ready assets. So clinical reigns supreme.
Are large pharma and healthcare incumbents behaving more like buyers, partners or spectators?
Zercher: Buyers and partners. Everyone's shopping for the patent cliff that's coming up: ... 300-plus billion dollars exclusivity going away. So people are definitely searching for the right opportunity to buy.
But you know, sometimes those opportunities aren't there. And in those cases, there's also a really strong partnership theme.
How much has policy, regulation or reimbursement uncertainty featured in conversations at the conference?
Zercher: It's factored in a lot but maybe in different ways than I expected. I probably expected more conversation around the Biosecure Act, and that hasn't been a hot topic.
But regulation uncertainty around the FDA is on everyone's mind. I think it's frustrating a lot of VC investors. I also think long-term pricing strategies with [Most Favored Nation] is also something that is keeping investors up at night.
And then reimbursement around GLP-1s is probably the main thing I'm hearing.
If you had to pick two or three defining themes of this year’s conference, what would they be?
Wright: I would say significant interest in healthcare AI and healthcare delivery and healthcare administration. There's significant interest in GLP-1 [drugs], and expectations for robust deal activity—whether it be M&A or increased IPO activity. |
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Smart reads that caught our eye.
• The AI boom is pushing the largest power grid operator in the US to the brink of a supply crisis. About 67 million people use its power—so do the many AI data centers springing up in Northern Virginia. [The Wall Street Journal]
• Blackstone is partnering with retirement plan administrator Empower to offer private investments in 401(k)s, as the alternative asset giant pushes further into the accounts of everyday investors. [Bloomberg]
• Balderton Capital has cashed out roughly $2 billion of its Revolut stake over the past year, cementing its early investment as one of the most lucrative bets in European VC history. [Financial Times] |
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| Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added: |
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757
Deals
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2535
People
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937
Companies
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27
Funds
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