Several large funding deals for Eastside companies helped spur a big jump in Seattle-area venture-capital investment in this year’s first quarter compared with year-ago levels, according to figures released today by PitchBook and National Venture Capital Association.
The metro area saw $2.1 billion in capital invested last quarter through 83 deals, triple the $695.8 million invested in first quarter 2024 in 95 deals, data show. It was the most money invested in a quarter since the last quarter of 2022, when greater Seattle area companies raised about $2.5 billion. The fourth quarter of 2024, meanwhile, also had 83 deals, but invested capital totaled $817.5 million.
The first quarter’s top three deals in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan statistical area, which includes King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, were Helion of Everett, $425 million; Truveta of Bellevue, $320 million; and Stoke Space of Kent, $260 million. Other $100-million-plus investments in Eastside companies included Temporal Technologies of Bellevue, $146 million; and Curevo Vaccine of Bothell, $110 million.
Helion is a fusion energy company. Its $425 million Series F investment last quarter brought the total invested in Helion to more than $1 billion.
Nationally, there were an estimated 3,990 deals in the first quarter, a 10.9% increase over the fourth quarter of 2024 and almost the same level as first quarter 2024, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report for Q1 2025. The first quarter’s deal value of $91.5 billion was up 18.5% from the fourth quarter, which was the highest level since Q1 2022, the report said, noting the quarters’ elevated deal value was bolstered by large deals in artificial intelligence. National VC investments in first quarter 2024 totaled $42.4 billion.
Forecasts, however, are cloudy going forward.
“The reality of a VC market rebound has likely faded as the effects of new tariffs and policy shifts take hold,” Nizar Tarhuni, executive vice president of research and market intelligence at PitchBook, said in a statement. “These impacts amplify economic uncertainty and could further disrupt the private markets by complicating investment decisions, supply chains, exit windows and portfolio strategies. While this may eventually lead to new domestic investment and create opportunities, the overall environment is facing volatility, hesitation, and structural change. Capital deployment and new fund commitments to VC were incredibly concentrated to several outsized transactions and established fund managers, and we should expect that concentration to be pushed further with the added uncertainty in today’s market.”
Bobby Franklin, president and CEO at NVCA, said first-quarter venture data reveals a rapidly evolving landscape.
“AI investments are dominating 71% of total deal value, yet the market remains bifurcated, leaving many companies struggling for capital,” Franklin said. “As we navigate these challenges, the future of American innovation depends on adopting wise policies in areas like taxation and regulation to ensure the stability and global competitiveness of our entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
