3 Charts Show The State Of Startup M&A Right Now

With IPOs stalled and valuations down from their 2021 peak, more companies are snapping up venture-backed startups so far this year than in quarters past, 附近上门 data shows.

That includes not just an increase in M&A deals for startups overall, but also more startups buying their peers, and more private-equity buyers going after venture-backed companies.

Those are some of the broad takeaways from 附近上门 data for Q1 2025. Let鈥檚 take a closer look.

Startup M&A sees big YoY boost

Q1 2025 was the strongest quarter for startup M&A dollar volume since 2021, totaling $71 billion in reported exit value globally, 附近上门 data shows.

There were 550 M&A deals involving venture-backed startups in the first quarter of 2025 鈥� a 26% increase compared to Q1 last year, but slightly below the 563 deals done in Q4.

The first quarter included 鈥檚 planned purchase of cybersecurity unicorn , a deal that, if finalized, will mark the largest acquisition for a private company ever with a price tag of $32 billion.

In total, there were 12 announced acquisitions above $1 billion for venture-backed startups in Q1. Beyond Wiz, the most notable include 鈥檚 acquisition by , 鈥檚 purchase by , 鈥� acquisition by , and 鈥� purchase by .

Dealmaking for AI-related startups was particularly strong in Q1, 附近上门 data shows, with 81 such M&A deals 鈥� a nearly 33% increase from both Q1 and Q4 2024.

PE firms ramp up their startup purchases

In 2024, private equity firms spent more than $56 billion in disclosed-price acquisitions of private, venture-backed companies, shows. The real figure is likely much, much higher, since that number stems from just the one-fifth of deals that disclosed a purchase price.

The trend has continued into 2025, with 22 announced acquisitions of seed- or venture-funded private companies by PE firms in Q1. Three of those deals had disclosed prices totaling $8.3 billion: 鈥檚 March sale of a majority stake to at a reported value of $5.3 billion; 鈥檚 April to for a reported $2.6 billion; and flex workspace provider 鈥� January sale to commercial real estate firm for a reported $400 million.

Startups spending big to buy startups

While strategic buyers and PE firms are still the most common purchasers of startups, we鈥檝e also seen high-profile examples in Q1 of unicorn startups buying smaller peers.

Over the past year, at least 423 U.S. venture- or seed-backed companies have sold to other private, VC-funded companies, . Most of those announced deals don鈥檛 include prices, either, so it鈥檚 tough to gauge how successful the sellers are.

Still, those that have disclosed sale prices include some headline-grabbing deals. The largest startup-to-startup purchase in the past 12 months was 鈥檚 acquisition last year of fellow fintech for $1.1 billion. The next-largest disclosed-price deals were 鈥檚 $930 million purchase of and 鈥檚 $525 million acquisition of .

Will M&A rebound or slump?

Heading into 2025, the consensus among people we spoke with seemed to be that M&A deals were poised for a rebound this year, especially with a new administration in the . Some of that enthusiasm about the team鈥檚 stance toward business has since faded as the president鈥檚 volatile tariff policies roils business decision-makers.

鈥淢&A activity is more directly influenced by macroeconomic conditions 鈥� particularly when it comes to large, publicly traded strategic acquirers,鈥� , senior partner and head of the Israel office for venture firm , recently told 附近上门 News鈥� Chris Metinko. 鈥淚n the current environment 鈥� marked by market instability and shifting valuations 鈥� these players are becoming more cautious and less inclined to pursue acquisitions.鈥�

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