Trading volume soared by 28%, and 7,627 companies received financing - China's venture capital industry emerges from the winter.

If you had to use one word to summarize the venture capital market in 2025, "emerging from the winter" might be the most fitting expression.

After continuous cooling in 2022 and 2023, the venture capital market in 2025 finally rebounded strongly, with the number of transactions hitting a new high in the past five years. However, at the same time, the total investment amount remained stable and did not increase in tandem with the number of transactions.

This unique phenomenon of "increasing volume and stable amount" reveals the real situation of the current venture capital market.

Three key numbers tell you the answer

To gauge the temperature of the venture capital market in 2025, let's first look at three sets of the most intuitive comparative data.

The first number: a 28% increase in the number of investment transactions

In 2025, there were a total of 9,058 investment transactions in China's new - economy primary market, an increase of 1,980 from the 7,078 transactions in 2024, a significant increase of 28%.

This growth rate is quite remarkable - it's equivalent to an average of five more investment events per day.

More notably, the number of transactions in 2025 not only exceeded that of 2024 but also surpassed the 9,054 transactions in 2021, making it the most active year in terms of transactions in the past five years.

The second number: a 0.44% decrease in the total investment amount

Although the number of transactions increased significantly, the total investment amount remained basically the same.

The total investment amount in 2025 was 821.368 billion yuan, only 3.614 billion yuan less than the 824.982 billion yuan in 2024, a decrease of only 0.44%.

From a statistical perspective, this change is almost negligible, indicating that the total scale of funds in the market remained stable.

The third number: a 19.4% increase in the number of funded companies

In 2025, a total of 7,627 companies received investment, an increase of 1,241 from the 6,386 companies in 2024, a growth rate of 19.4%.

This means that more startups have won the favor of capital, and the market coverage has expanded significantly.

The "V - shaped" rebound: a five - year trajectory depicts the market trend

Taking a broader view over five years, we can see a clear "V - shaped" curve.

2021 - 2023: a continuous decline in the cold winter period

Since 2021, the venture capital market has experienced two consecutive years of cooling.

The number of investment transactions decreased from 9,054 in 2021 to 7,557 in 2022 and then to 6,618 in 2023, a cumulative decrease of 26.9%. The decline in the total investment amount was even more obvious, dropping from nearly 1.5 trillion yuan in 2021 to 812.788 billion yuan in 2023, a shrinkage of nearly 46%.

During this period, the number of funded companies also decreased from 7,670 to 5,921, a decrease of 22.8%.

In 2023, the market was the coldest in these five years, with the number of transactions, investment amount, and the number of funded companies all hitting five - year lows.

2024 - 2025: a recovery period of bottom - up rebound

In 2024, the market began to show signs of improvement. The number of investment transactions rebounded to 7,078, a year - on - year increase of 6.9%, and the total investment amount remained stable at 824.982 billion yuan. These positive signals indicated that the market bottom had been formed.

By 2025, the rebound momentum was even stronger. The number of investment transactions and the number of funded companies almost returned to the 2021 level, indicating that the market activity had basically recovered. Although the total investment amount had not reached the 2021 high, it had remained at the level of over 800 billion yuan for two consecutive years, indicating that the capital scale had stabilized.

The market logic behind "increasing volume and stable amount"

The most interesting phenomenon in 2025 was that the number of transactions increased significantly, but the total amount remained stable. What does this mean?

Investment has become more diversified and rational. Investment institutions no longer bet large sums of money on a few star projects as they did in 2021. Instead, they choose a strategy of "multiple - point layout and risk diversification". More money flows to more companies. Although the amount each company receives is relatively smaller, more entrepreneurs have the opportunity to develop on the whole.

Early - stage projects have received more attention. Data shows that the 19.4% increase in the number of funded companies is higher than the growth of the investment amount (almost zero growth), indicating that more funds have flowed to early - stage projects that require relatively less capital. Investors are starting to pay more attention to potential companies rather than just chasing mature large - scale projects.

The market has returned to normal. The high - volume investment in 2021 was, to some extent, a manifestation of irrational prosperity. The "increasing volume and stable amount" in 2025 just shows that the market has returned to rationality, investment decisions are more prudent, and valuations are more reasonable.

For entrepreneurs, the market environment in 2025 can be described as "more opportunities but also more intense competition". Nearly 7,700 companies received investment, increasing the probability of successful startup financing. However, the decrease in the single - transaction financing amount also means that they need to use funds more carefully.

For investors, "spreading the net widely and focusing on cultivation" has become the new strategy. The investment in a single project has decreased, but the number of invested projects has increased. They use portfolio investment to diversify risks and improve overall returns.

Spring has come, but it's not midsummer

Let's return to the original question: Was the venture capital market in 2025 "hot" or "cold"?

The answer is: The market has clearly warmed up, but it has not returned to its hottest state.

From a positive perspective, the number of investment transactions reached a five - year high, and the number of funded companies was close to the historical best level, significantly increasing market activity. This shows that investors' confidence is recovering, the startup environment is improving, and the "spring" of the capital market has indeed arrived.

However, from a cautious perspective, the total investment amount has not reached the 2021 high, and the single - investment amount has decreased, indicating that the market is still in a stage of rational recovery and has not entered an over - heated state. This is actually a healthy sign - it has both vitality and rationality.

To use an analogy: If the venture capital market in 2021 was "midsummer" and 2023 was "winter", then 2025 is "early spring" - everything is reviving and full of vitality, but it still needs to continue to gather strength for greater prosperity.

For entrepreneurs and investors, this may be the best time: there are plenty of opportunities, and they won't lose their way due to excessive prosperity.

This article is from the WeChat public account "IT Juzi" (ID: itjuzi521). The author is IT Juzi. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.