AI startups generated $189.6 billion in 2025
AI startups significantly boosted global venture capital exits in 2025, contributing $189.6 billion or 34.5% of the total $549.2 billion, marking a sharp increase from previous years and highlighting AI’s growing role in driving investor returns. Picture: Google Gemini
Image: Google Gemini
Artificial Intelligence (AI) startups drove a major rebound in global venture capital exits during 2025, accounting for more than a third of total exit value for the first time on record, according to new data from BestBrokers.
In simple terms, venture capital exits refer to the moment investors finally cash out — typically when a startup is acquired, lists on the stock market through an IPO (Initial Public Offering), or sells shares in secondary transactions. These exits allow early backers to realise returns after years of funding high-growth companies.
Total global venture capital exit value reached $549.2 billion last year, with AI and machine learning firms contributing $189.6 billion, or 34.5% of the total. That represents a dramatic rise from 21.8% in 2024 and just 11% in 2023, underscoring how rapidly artificial intelligence has become the primary driver of investor returns.
Although overall tech exit activity was slow, investors invested heavily in late-stage AI infrastructure, enterprise AI platforms, and semiconductor-related startups, which led the liquidity events. In contrast, AI companies aimed at consumers did not receive as much attention.
Apple Products: High Prices Amidst Rising RAM and SSD Costs
Meanwhile, Apple products— their laptops in particular— are by no means cheap. The fact that RAM (memory) and SSD storage costs have skyrocketed over the last six months has played right into the tech giants’ hands.
This is chiefly due to the requirements of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which demands more RAM and more SSD space than ever before, and it’s only going to get worse.For Apple though, the fact that their upgrade prices for RAM and SSD storage have typically always been expensive is not what matters. What does matter is that those upgrades are generally set at consistent prices, as Apple manufactures their own RAM and SSDs.