In the first weeks after the initial tariff announcement, dealmakers proceeded with caution. More recently, however, spending in the merger market has been revving back up.

The new global tariff policy by the U.S. and ongoing negotiations have begun to change the way that some early-stage investors are approaching deals. But the global machine of startup fundraising is still churning along.

In 2024, companies in the AI space stunned the market by raising huge rounds at lofty valuations from some of the most prestigious investors. Some headline-grabbing rounds were raised mere weeks after launch.

Consumer startups posted the lowest quarterly totals since at least the start of 2019 for both investment amount and total deals. And Q2 did not begin with cause for optimism.

Data from more than 2,500 venture funds that currently use Carta Fund Administration gives us a revealing snapshot of fund performance, including IRR, DPI, and TVPI.