Why 2025 Looks Like A Big Year For Venture Capital

Think this is nice? It’s a version of the weekly Under 30 newsletter and would be even better in your inbox.

Startup funding is already off to a fast start in 2025. Under 30 Europe Tech company Synthesia just raised $180 million earlier this month to help companies like Spirit Airlines amp up their employee training videos with AI avatars. Meanwhile alum Surbhi Sanha recently secured a $100 million valuation for her new AI startup, Collate, which seeks to cut healthcare paper work with automation.

While 2024 saw blockbuster deals—think Under 30 companies Waymo ($5 billion raise) or Scale AI ($1 billion) —analysts expect 2025 to be the biggest year for venture investing since the heady days of 2022, thanks to an overall optimistic view of the global economy (and that’s despite significant uncertainty around global conflicts and incoming governments).

Under 30s like Hayden Lekacz, 2025 Under 30 Venture Capital lister and vice president at growth firm TPG, are optimistic about startups receiving a healthy flow of capital support in 2025. “When times are difficult, entrepreneurs are forced to focus on profitable unit economics, clear product market fit, and everything else that makes a business really click,” he says. “The advice I give to founders is that success rarely happens overnight. In the current market, you must be prepared for setbacks and remain committed to your vision.”

PitchBook’s US Venture Capital Outlook report expects markets will improve if inflation levels hit Fed’s targets, GDPs continue to grow steadily, and unemployment rates remain low. “In general, the economic indicators bifurcate from consumer confidence, which has been low and still has not recovered from pre-COVID-19 highs,” the report states.

Venture capital investing hasn’t reached its 2022 highs (more than $180 billion raised by VC firms). Last year, the IPO pool went dry. But exits are looking to accelerate in 2025 with a crop of startups—including Forbes Fintech 50 alums Chime and Hopper—expected to IPO and return billions to their VC backers. Late-stage startups are likely to see the bulk of investment dollars in 2025, the report says, but more liquidity for LPs means more capital could go to newer startups.

To no one’s surprise, AI, which attracted the most capital in 2024, remains the hot topic. Over at management firm Adams Street, analysts are “cautiously optimistic that deal activity will continue to improve in 2025” and expect it’ll be the AI-native companies that are building critical products like foundational models and developer tools that will be of the most interest to investors. Cybersecurity is another appealing category.

Meanwhile, experts at investment management firm Wellington Management say President Trump’s reelection is poised to reduce regulations around crypto-related businesses. His policies could also seriously impact liquidity for private equity firms, with investment banks already seeing their stocks go up since his win.

See you next week,

Alex and Zoya

This $2 Billion Content Moderation Company Is Trying To Stop AI Images Of Child Sexual Abuse

Under 30 alums Kevin Guo and Dmitriy Karpman’s Hive currently counts users like Reddit and Bluesky, which use the company’s ML models to flag harmful content. Now the startup is trying to eradicate sexual abuse content: The startup announced on Thursday a new partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation, a U.K.-based child safety nonprofit, which will now integrate IWF’s datasets—including a regularly updated list of 8,000 websites including real and AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to monitor.

On Our Radar

-The era of remote work is officially over, for government employees, that is. Newly (re)inaugurated President Trump announced on his first day back in office that he’d be ending the WFH options for all U.S. government departments and agencies in the executive branch. Plus, this Executive Order was just one of the “directives targeting the federal workforce of 2.3 million,” which also includes “a hiring freeze, revamped hiring rules and other moves to make career senior employees easier to fire.” (CBS News)

-Speaking of returning to office, Gen Z officewear is on the rise across platforms like TikTok. But it’s not the same formal suits and blazers corporate America has seen in decades past. Instead, some young employees are sporting crop tops and mini skirts to sit in their cubicles—and brands (like J. Crew and Aritzia) are leaning in. (The Wall Street Journal)

-TikTok died. And then it came back a day later, with a notice thanking President Trump for saving the platform from the ban (despite Biden stating he would not be enforcing the ban in the first place). But many users say it already feels like a new app—some even think Meta bought the platform. (The Washington Post)

One Minute With Sieu Nguyen

We’re bringing you the scoop on a new Under 30 community member. Up this week: Sieu Nguyen, a 2024 Under 30 Marketing & Advertising lister who currently holds a role as a writer and producer in HBO Max’s marketing audio-visual department. There, the Hanoi, Vietnam native (who now lives in NYC) is responsible for writing, editing and producing promotional creative content for series and films like Euphoria and The White Lotus—including episodic trailers, behind-the-scenes featurettes and social content.

The following has been slightly edited for length and clarity.

Can you give us a brief run-down of your day-to-day schedule? Every day is different, which is part of why I love my job. It’s usually a combination of video producing and editing—brainstorming ideas, researching music, coordinating graphic production, recording voice-over, overseeing audio mixes, and talking to legal representatives to ensure editorial standards of creative assets. Sometimes, we go on set to shoot interviews, red-carpet content and behind-the-scenes footage, which is always fun. Receiving feedback from my creative directors and project leads is also an important part of the process.

Where do you find inspiration for your projects? I find inspiration from watching other great trailers and behind-the-scenes featurettes out there, observing what’s resonating with people on social media, taking note of what makes my friends laugh or feel something poignant, and keeping a diary of my often vivid dreams. During moments of creative blocks, I walk around New York and let the rich visuals of the city—street art, museums, ceramic tiles in subway stations—inspire me.

What’s your favorite project you’ve ever worked on? One of my favorite projects was a behind-the-scenes featurette I produced for Euphoria season 2. It has a segment about how the cinematography of Euphoria is inspired by Nan Goldin’s photographs. Sifting through Goldin’s body of work and identifying the photos that visually inspired the HBO original series was such a meaningful experience. I was glad to help shed light on the making of this beautiful, artistic, zeitgeisty show, which I’m personally a fan of.

What do you think is the key to enticing marketing content for shows today? I think the key is to stop thinking about it as “marketing,” but simply interpersonal storytelling. If a story resonates on a personal level, if viewers see themselves in a character, if the thematic concept of a show or video brings out the rawest emotions in the audience, people will gravitate towards that content naturally. I rarely view what I do as “selling” something, but sharing stories that are universal enough to capture people’s attention, at the same time unique enough to keep them guessing.

What’s been the biggest change in the TV landscape since you started working in the industry? How do you adapt? I think the biggest change in the past decade is the growth of streaming services, resulting in a continuous flow of new televisual content. This is great because the audience will have more choices for entertainment, and marketers like us will have to come up with fresher, more creative approaches. My way of adapting is simply keeping up with that content and constantly experimenting with new production techniques. I whole-heartedly believe that the core of creativity is trying new things—even if they fail sometimes—rather than adhering to proven formulas. Only by breaking out of our comfort zones can we evolve alongside the culture.

You’ve been nominated for Emmy’s and generated tens of millions of views for your work. What would you say is your biggest accomplishment to date? The Emmy nomination for our marketing team’s Hacks season 3 campaign was definitely a career highlight. I would say another accomplishment I’m proud of was interviewing Robert Downey Jr. for another campaign we did last year. A lot of preparation came into that interview and I’m so happy with the way it went. What I had was not simply an interview, but a conversation with the renowned actor about the creative process and the importance of storytelling.

Fun fact, off-camera, Robert asked where I got my suit jacket tailored, which is honestly my “I made it” moment and something I’ll never forget.

Is there anything you can’t live without? My passport, which allows me to see the world; the Modern Love section in The New York Times, which shows how much love exists in that world; and my family and friends, who remind me that I, too, am loved.

Do you have a morning routine you stick to? I start my morning with homemade breakfast, a cup of black tea, a newsletter about social media trends, a book on the subway (currently reading “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” – fantastic book), and a Taylor Swift song-of-the-day to set the mood.

What’s your favorite hobby unrelated to work? I have an undying love for cooking. It’s very much another form of creativity, and a way for me to keep in touch with my Vietnamese roots. When I grew up in Vietnam, my grandmother cooked the most delicious dishes. I’m eternally inspired by her and try to be a good cook in my spare time. Food is my love language.

What was your first ever job? The first ever gig I was paid for was reporting for my high school’s newspaper. I always had a passion for writing, but some peers back then were dubious about how lucrative that passion could be, so I set out to prove them wrong. It was also gratifying at that age to know that my words were worth something, and I could practically pursue creativity as a career path. To this day, I still see writing as a foundation to my video production process, as every video has an opening, body and ending, not so different from a written essay.

Do you have any 2025 goals? I want to continue to evolve in my creative career, make more meaningful connections (which, thanks to the Under 30 community, I know I will), write more, read more about Buddhist teachings, and try to stay healthy and sane in this chaotic world.

What’s one prediction you have for 2025 (for your industry or the world in general)? I think longform content will become more prominent in the marketing space. For years, we’ve seen shortform content (trailers and 15 to 30-second spots) be the main driving force in marketing campaigns. These will remain, but the growing popularity of five-plus-minutes-long videos or episodic content on social media platforms is evident that people are growing fonder and fonder of longer stories.

What’s one thing the Under 30 community might not know about you that you want them to know? That I secretly want to befriend everyone in the Food & Drinks category to know all the best spots to eat wherever I travel. In exchange, I’ll recommend them the best Vietnamese bites in New York!