Good news for companies founded by women
Some good news for companies started by women. Funding for US female founders has surpassed all previous highs just halfway through 2025, according to financial data firm PitchBook. In the first half of the year, startups with at least one female founder raised $78.8 billion over 1,428 deals, overtaking 2021’s record of $68.7 billion. Two big AI delas stick out.
“The first two quarters of 2025 were the best on record for startups with at least one female founder, totaling $51.2 billion and $27.6 billion, respectively. This was powered by two massive AI deals—a $40 billion OpenAI round in March and a $14.3 billion round for Scale AI in June”, a PitchBook overview shows.
The report says that other notable deals in Q2 included $2.57 billion for World View, a space exploration and technology startup co-founded by former Strategic Advisor Jane Poynter, and $115 million for Glycomine, a drug developer founded by former CEO Dr. Agnes Rafalko.
“Venture capital funding for female founders has stabilised after dropping sharply from 2021 highs. In recent years, US companies founded or co-founded by women have received a smaller share of total deals compared to previous years. However, those companies continue to grow their share of capital raised.”
A previous report by the firm shows that more than 1 in 3 venture debt dollars is going to AI startups in the US and Europe, with AI and ML startups receiving 38.4% of the $30 billion venture debt deal value of 2025.
Data from market research firm IDC confirms that trust in the potential of AI continues to be strong. Investments in AI solutions and services will have a global cumulative impact of $22.3 trillion by 2030, representing approximately 3.7% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a recent forecast by IDC.
“Driven by soaring infrastructure costs and the pressure to sustain high valuations, the venture debt industry is coalescing around AI and ML companies as startups are seeking debt financing at earlier stages”, PitchBook says in an overview.
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