Wilson Sonsini is pleased to present the Full-Year 2025 edition of The Entrepreneurs Report. We’ve compiled a range of data on venture, convertible note, and SAFE financing transactions in which the firm was involved during the fourth quarter, with the objective of identifying relevant trends in activity and valuation levels for the U.S. venture capital industry in general.

Key features of this edition:

• Valuations and Round Sizes End the Year Strong: Equity fundraising valuations and round sizes increased and finished out the year at or near record highs across most stages, suggesting that investors continue to have an appetite for making big investments in promising companies across industries and sectors.
• State of the M&A Market: Wilson Sonsini Mergers & Acquisitions partner Ethan Lutske shares his perspective on the current state of the start-up M&A environment, and shares his insights gained working with Jony Ive and LoveFrom as part of OpenAI’s recent acquisition of io Products.
• SAFEs Continue to Dominate at the Pre-Seed Stage: With more than 90% of pre-Seed fundraises utilizing Simple Agreements for Future Equity (SAFEs), this basic fundraising instrument continues to be the clear favorite when it comes to sub-million-dollar deals. SAFE raise amounts were also up this year, indicating a hot market for pre-seed companies.
• All Eyes on AI: Regulatory, Litigation, and Transactional Developments: In this latest edition of Wilson Sonsini’s All Eyes on AI newsletter, we share developments on AI and machine learning regulations, takeaways from recent litigation, and highlights from the firm’s recent AI-related deal work.

Click here to read the Full-Year 2025 edition of The Entrepreneurs Report.