Business Blog: AI grabs a third of venture debt

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The Daily Pitch: VC, PE and M&A

July 2, 2025

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🏦 US senators voted to strike a ban on state-level AI regulation Tuesday from President Donald Trump's tax and domestic policy bill. The ban's demise is a setback for VCs and CEOs who lobbied heavily for the moratorium, including OpenAI's Sam Altman, but a win for AI safety advocates. Read more

Plus...
• Figma files to go public, showing a 48% jump in revenue growth in the year after Adobe tried to buy the design software maker
• Fintech-focused VC firm Ribbit Capital is hopping to it—raising Leapfrog, a $300M opportunistic fund
• Bain Capital is forming a $1.2 billion joint venture with Warner Music Group to invest in music catalogs

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AI startups gobbling more than a third of venture debt dollars

(Chole Ladwig/PitchBook News)

More than 1 in 3 venture debt dollars is going to AI startups in the US and Europe, with the vertical claiming 38.4% of the $30 billion venture debt deal value of 2025.

But what's driving more AI startups to seek debt financing, particularly at the earlier stages? PitchBook tech reporter Jacob Robbins dives into the question.

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Design software maker Figma files to go public

Figma CEO Dylan Field, left, with TechCrunch Enterprise Reporter Ron Miller in 2022. (Kimberly White/Getty Images)

Figma filed its IPO prospectus Tuesday, revealing a 48% jump in yearly revenue growth in the year after Adobe's attempted $20 billion merger.

Figma, which tapped Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to run its IPO process on the NYSE, is a fast-growing collaborative design and product creation software company widely used by enterprises.

June wrap-up: One month in global markets

Our latest Global Markets Snapshot breaks down a month of trends in the equity, debt and commodities markets—tracking returns across a range of indexes and sectors. It also features private market activity, including major deals, fundraising, IPO performance, lending volume and unicorn creation.

In this monthly digest, we provide the datasets that the PitchBook Institutional Research Group is keeping an eye on as markets remain volatile.

Read it now

Europe's real estate fundraising beats 2024's total in 6 months

(Ewg3D/Getty Images)

PE fundraising in the European real estate sector could be entering the recovery phase, with over €13 billion raised so far this year, surpassing 2024's total.

Preliminary returns data shows signs of improvement after two years of negative quarterly results.

Since yesterday, the PitchBook Platform added:

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Funds

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The Daily Benchmark: 2016 Vintage Global VC Funds

Median IRR

16.46%

Top Quartile IRR

26.20%

0.69x

Median DPI

Select top performers

Medicxi Ventures 1

Red Dot Capital Partners

7Wire Ventures Fund

*IRR: net of fees

77 Funds in Benchmark »

Check out the latest version of PitchBook Benchmarks

VC Deals

Grammarly plans to acquire Superhuman, the developer of an AI email communications app.

Saudi Arabia-based grocery delivery startup Ninja raised around $250 million in a round led by Riyad Capital at a $1.5 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.

Klar, a Mexican fintech startup offering credit services, raised a $190 million Series C led by General Atlantic.

AI robotics startup Genesis AI emerged from stealth with $105 million in funding led by Eclipse and Khosla Ventures.

Levelpath, a startup developing an AI-native procurement platform, raised over $55 million in a Series B led by Battery Ventures.

Biopharma startup Syntis Bio, which focuses on treatments for obesity and rare diseases, raised a $33 million Series A led by Cerberus Ventures.

Ambrook, which develops accounting software for farmers, raised a $26.1 million Series A led by Thrive Capital and Dylan Field, Fortune reported.

Washington, DC-based Emerald AI, a provider of energy management software for data centers, raised a $24.5 million seed round led by Radical Ventures.

AppsForBharat, an Indian startup that builds apps focused on spiritualism, has raised 1.75 billion Indian rupees (about $21 million) in a Series C led by Susquehanna Asia Venture Capital.

Kerys Software, a French startup focused on IT infrastructure management, raised €6.2 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Seedcamp, Backtrace and Kima Ventures.

Catch our next series of webinars

Hear our expert analysts break down shifts in private market expectations at the halfway mark of 2025. From increased uncertainty to volatile global markets, get the timely coverage you need to make informed decisions.

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PE Deals

Precision equipment maker Spectris is backing a renewed £4.1 billion takeover bid from KKR, dropping its support for a competing offer led by Advent International.

Nordic Capital acquired Arcadia Solutions, a healthcare data analytics company.

Blackstone is reassessing its bid for UK-based Warehouse REIT after the company accepted a £485.2 million offer from Tritax Big Box REIT, surpassing Blackstone's earlier £470 million final offer, according to reports.

KKR-backed Ascend Asia Financial Services Group is acquiring Singapore-based financial advisory firm Finexis.

Advent International agreed to acquire LayerZero, a provider of power products for data center infrastructure.

Warburg Pincus agreed to acquire a majority interest in Uvex Group, a Rhode Island-based sports protective gear producer.

Oakley Capital is backing UK-based stationery brand Smythson, Italy-based homeware retailer Fornasetti and Italy-based luggage maker Fabbrica Pelletterie Milano.

CVC Capital Partners acquired Indian affordable housing lender Aavas Financiers from Partners Group.

Truelink Capital Management acquired cleaning and maintenance solutions company Zep from New Mountain Capital.

Exits

EQT is selling a minority stake in digital infrastructure company Radius Global Infrastructure's Italy-based unit, which could be valued around €1 billion, Bloomberg reported.

Germany-based medtech company Brainlab, which is backed by investors including EMH Partners, has put its IPO plans on pause.

Altamont Capital Partners-backed insurance company Accelerant Holdings filed for a US IPO.

Fundraising

San Francisco-based Greenoaks Capital Partners has raised $2.5 billion for its latest VC fund, Axios reported.

Growth Capital Partners held a first and final close for Fund VI on £411 million, reaching its hard cap three months after its formal launch.

Catalio Capital Management, a healthcare VC firm backed by KKR, closed its fourth fund on $400 million.

LBP AM collected €235 million for its ELTIF 2.0 fund, LBPAM Private Opportunities.

Eni Next, the corporate VC arm of Italian energy giant Eni, is launching a fund alongside investment firm Azimut Group under the ELTIF fund rules. It kicks off in September with a €100 million target and will focus on investments in the energy-tech sector.