It’s all happening in AI (and, yes, that’s a Simon and Garfunkel reference).
And if that’s an exaggeration, it barely feels like one: In Q3, AI amounted to 39.5% of deal count, a record, according to PitchBook. AI is sending U.S. dealmaking trends up, as PitchBook estimates that deal count is up about 8% this year, marking the third most active year of the last decade. And when it comes to deal value, the numbers are even more dominant: By Q3 2025, 64.3% of deal value in the U.S. has tracked to AI. Now, the definition of “AI” is pretty broad, but a now undeniable reality has taken hold.
“I think AI has basically become the foundation of VC,” said Kyle Stanford, PitchBook director of U.S. venture research, via email. “It provides a wholly new way for companies to solve challenges, and it is being integrated into every part of the economy. It is still the easy and fast deployment that can drive hyper scaling that VC has looked to for outsized returns. As mentioned above, it’s not a singular technology or subset of companies within a broader industry; it is becoming part of everything.”
This follows through to the much-discussed and long-suffering VC exit environment: In 2025 so far, 40% of the exit deal value also traces back to AI, among them CoreWeave’s IPO. PitchBook says 2025 has seen a record 317 AI exits. But the environment for IPOs and M&A remains dicey, according to PitchBook’s Stanford.
