A quarterly report exploring emerging investment trends in private financial markets and the venture capital ecosystem
Q2 2025
In this edition of the Road to Next series, we examine the evolving roles of generalist and specialist venture capital (VC) investors in today’s complex dealmaking environment. The first quarter of 2025 saw robust expansion-stage activity in the United States, with both specialist and generalist investors driving growth. Data shows that specialist participation correlated with larger deal sizes and faster, higher-value exits, even as generalists maintained advantages in portfolio diversification.
Four things to know now:
"Given current levels of uncertainty in markets, executives and investors are trying to plan for multiple contingencies, as well as continuing to focus on investments that have a higher degree of confidence."
Heather Gates, Audit & Assurance Private Growth Leader, Deloitte & Touche LLP
median Q1 expansion-stage deal size (specialists)
niche software development application (specialists)
valuation increase with specialist involvement