Amid ongoing market volatility, North Carolina’s Life Science and Technology sectors delivered solid venture investment performance in 2025. While overall deal activity declined, total venture capital raised by companies across the state remained relatively steady compared to the prior year, supported by several large Life Science and technology financings. These outcomes reflect a more disciplined and selective investment environment, with capital increasingly concentrated in companies demonstrating clear progress toward clinical, technical, and commercial milestones.
Globally, Life Science venture activity stabilized in 2025 following several challenging years. Oncology, dataenabled biology, and AI-driven drug discovery platforms continued to attract substantial investor interest. Public market conditions improved modestly, and strategic M&A activity accelerated. Against this backdrop, North Carolina stood out: Atsena Therapeutics, Kriya Therapeutics, restor3d, and Tune Therapeutics each raised venture megarounds, and two Triangle-based companies were acquired by pharmaceutical companies in transactions totaling approximately $5B in value.
Artificial intelligence remained the prevailing investment theme nationally in 2025, accounting for more than half of all venture capital deployment. While this concentration reflects the transformative potential of AI, North Carolina’s ecosystem continued to distinguish itself through diversification—spanning Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, software, data infrastructure, and applied AI—providing resilience through market cycles.
Beyond venture capital, North Carolina’s position as a leading U.S. hub for pharmaceutical and Advanced Manufacturing continued to strengthen. Multi-billion-dollar facility investments and expansions announced by companies such as Biogen, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, JetZero, Vulcan Elements, and others underscore the state’s long-term competitive advantages in workforce, infrastructure, and public-private collaboration.
Looking ahead to 2026, we expect our region to continue to remain competitive in attracting venture capital dollars. North Carolina’s balanced innovation economy, deep scientific talent, innovative research universities, and driven early-stage entrepreneurs position the state for continued progress. These strengths will be critical as companies navigate a more disciplined capital environment while advancing the research and development that fuels long-term growth.
At Alexandria Venture Investments, the strategic venture capital platform of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, we are proud to support transformative companies in North Carolina and across the country. Through our venture investments and our high-touch Alexandria LaunchLabs® platform—both of which have a meaningful presence in the state—we remain committed to accelerating innovation and helping build enduring companies that drive scientific and technological impact.
With Gratitude,
Blake Stevens
Blake
Stevens, PhD
Executive
Vice President, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. & Alexandria Venture Investments
01
Steady Growth in Total Funding
Venture funding in North Carolina increased modestly year-over-year, reaching $3.4B (+7% vs. 2024 and +108% vs. 2023), maintaining momentum above the $3B threshold despite a broader national trend of capital concentration into fewer startups.
05
02
Shift to Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing
These sectors captured over 62% of total venture dollars ($2.1B combined), with life sciences surging 145% to $1.3B (driven by deals like Kriya’s $321M and Atsena’s $150M) and advanced manufacturing exploding 5,061% to $792M (led by Vulcan Elements’ $620M raise), overshadowing tech’s 56% decline to $1.1B.
03
Fewer but Larger Deals
The total number of deals declined (187 vs. 209 in 2024), but the average deal size rose slightly to $18.9M from $15.2M, driven by mega-rounds. The median deal size increased to $3M from $1.7M, reflecting a more balanced yet selective funding landscape with capital favoring highpotential opportunities.
04
Triangle Region Further Consolidates Leadership
The Triangle accounted for 73.2% of all deals (up from 68% in 2024), with Durham leading at 54 transactions, followed by Raleigh and Morrisville, underscoring the region’s strength in life sciences and advanced manufacturing.
Emerging Hubs Beyond the Triangle
While deal counts outside the Triangle remained lower, notable activity included Wilmington’s $300M Vantaca round in tech and Charlotte’s contributions in cleantech (e.g., Terrestrial Energy $15.6M), highlighting growing diversification across the state.
Top 10
Takeaways FROM 2025
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Deals under $5M fell to 118 from 159 in 2024, signaling a shift toward mid- and latestage funding amid national pressures where capital flows disproportionately to established “haves,” potentially challenging seed-stage founders.
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39 exits occurred, primarily through 38 mergers, acquisitions, or buyouts, with one SPAC public listing (Terrestrial Energy). High-profile deals included Verona Pharma’s $10B acquisition by Merck and Intelerad Medical Systems’ $2.3B sale to GE Healthcare, though overall liquidity events slowed amid cautious markets.
08
Surge in Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, and Cleantech
Funding in Cleantech rose 75% to $161M across 12 deals, with high-profile raises like Smart Wires ($65M) and BioMason ($37M), reflecting growing investor interest in sustainable technologies amid national pushes for green innovation.
09
Investor Activity Contracts
The number of institutional investors declined further (220 vs. 273 in 2024), with reductions across regions, including the West Coast and international participants (23 from 17 countries). Local players like Triangle Tweener Fund remained active, andother national investors like Alexandria Real Estate Ventures contributed.
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North Carolina’s Resilient and Diversifying Ecosystem
With consistent multi-billiondollar annual funding, a blend of local and national investors, and strengths beyond tech into life sciences and manufacturing, North Carolina continues to mature as a competitive Southeast venture hub, adapting to national trends of intensified competition and larger bets.
Decline in EarlyStage Investments
Matching Entrepreneurs with the Resources They Need
The Center for Entrepreneurial Development was formed in 1984 by a group of business leaders wanting to empower the successful creation and growth of entrepreneurial companies in the North Carolina region. CED acts as the connective center for all of this to happen. Through high-touch support, education, access to capital, and crucial connections, CED brings entrepreneurs together with the optimal resources needed to turn a new company into a success story.
797
companies supported across North Carolina hours of support
CONNECT TO CAPITAL service makes over 1,000 quality, curated direct introductions between founders, investors, and other resources annually.
8,000+
In 2025, CED delivered support to 797 companies across North Carolina. Our team and engaged network delivered over 8,000 hours of consultative support to address scaling challenges by leveraging peer sharing tactics, private strategy sessions and direct intros to subject matter experts.
GRO INCUBATOR is a twelve-week incubator program focused on customer discovery and helping founders and their startups find product market fit.
VENTURE CONNECT is North Carolina’s premier capital conference showcasing over 100 companies annually that are scaling in North Carolina.
CED is a community of founders and operators, investors, and ecosystem collaborators that are aligned by efforts to nurture the rise of the next generation of emerging giants in science and technology headquartered in North Carolina.
For 40+ years, CED has been the leader in providing quality, curated support for scalable, venture backable companies with a high propensity for success. Our support is delivered by local founders, operators, investors, and business leaders united by their commitment to growing the startup ecosystem in North Carolina.
Visit our website, connect with us today, and learn more about how to get involved.
www.cednc.org
More Money into Fewer Startups
Venture capital isn’t exactly healthy across the country right now. Funding is way up, but the number of startups getting funded is basically flat. More money, same few companies = tension.
Carta data shows dollars invested in U.S. startups up 130% in two years, while total rounds barely moved (around 3%).
Dollars invested up 130%
Deals up 3%
PETER WALKER CARTA
What This Means
• Competition is brutal. Massive rounds for a few companies mean less capital for everyone else.
• The gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” keeps widening, especially outside the AI spotlight.
• Exits will have to be historically huge, or a lot of this money disappears.
Is it good? Probably not. But it’s the game right now.
The Year in Numbers
In 2025, North Carolina’s venture capital activity maintained its momentum, with total funding reaching $3.4B, representing a 7% increase over 2024’s $3.2B. However, this growth must be viewed against a troubling national backdrop: while VC dollars surged 130% nationally from Q1 2023 to Q4 2025, the number of companies receiving funding barely budged, rising just 3%.
North Carolina mirrored this concerning trend—funding increased 7% while the number of funded companies dropped 14% (166 vs. 192 in 2024), revealing an increasingly concentrated capital allocation favoring fewer, larger bets. This marks the fourth time in the last five years the state has surpassed the $3B threshold, but the celebration is tempered by concerns about which startups are being left behind.
Key trends shaping 2025 include:
1. Sectoral Rotation and Life Sciences Surge: Life Sciences emerged as the funding leader with $1.3B (39% of total funding), a remarkable 145% increase yearover-year. Major deals included Kriya’s $321M raise, Tune’s $175M, and Atsena’s $150M, cementing North Carolina’s position as a Life Sciences flagbearer.
2. Advanced Manufacturing Breakthrough: The Advanced Manufacturing and materials sector experienced explosive growth, surging 5,061% to $792M, driven primarily by Vulcan Elements’ two major rounds totaling $685M. This represents a fundamental shift in the state’s innovation economy.
3. Tech Sector Correction: After spearheading 2024 with 79% of total funding, the tech sector contracted 56% to $1.1B in 2025. Despite this decline, significant deals from Vantaca ($300M), Teamworks ($235M), and Petscreening and Core Sound Imaging (both $80M) demonstrate continued strength in select subsectors.
4. Geographic Concentration: Durham solidified its position as North Carolina’s venture capital epicenter, hosting 54 deals (29% of total), with the Triangle region overall capturing 73.2% of all deals, underscoring the Research Triangle’s enduring appeal.
5. Declining Institutional Investor Presence: The number of institutional investors continued its downward trend, falling to 273 from 317 in 2024, though this consolidation may reflect more focused, strategic capital deployment rather than waning interest.
6. Cleantech Momentum: Cleantech funding grew 75% to $161M, led by Smart Wires’ $65M round, signaling growing investor recognition of sustainabilityfocused opportunities.
Despite the reduction in deal volume and institutional investor count, North Carolina’s venture ecosystem demonstrated remarkable adaptability and sectoral diversification in 2025. The dramatic sectoral rotation from tech and software leadership to a more balanced portfolio—with Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing playing pivotal roles—positions the state for sustainable, long-term growth.
However, the concentration of capital in mega-deals raises important questions about ecosystem health. With 166 companies capturing $3.4B versus 192 companies sharing $3.1B in 2024, North Carolina reflects the national trend toward bigger swings at fewer opportunities. As Carta’s data shows, this “more money, fewer startups” dynamic creates anxiety: these concentrated bets require proportionally larger exits to justify the capital deployed, and the growing divide between heavily-funded companies and those outside the capital spotlight threatens to fragment the entrepreneurial community.
As 2025 concludes, North Carolina has firmly established itself as a mature venture capital market, but stakeholders must grapple with whether this capital concentration model serves the broader innovation ecosystem or merely amplifies winner-take-all dynamics that could leave promising companies starved for resources.
The Triangle Region Continues to Lead
The Triangle region continued to lead the entrepreneurial funding activity in North Carolina in 2025, accounting for an impressive 73.2% of the state’s total deals, up from 67.9% in 2024. Durham emerged as the top location for deals with 54 transactions, followed by Raleigh leading in tech transactions with 29 deals,, cementing the Triangle’s leadership as the epicenter of the state’s startup ecosystem. On a dollar basis, the Triangle commanded a substantial share of total funding, bolstered by high-profile deals.
Charlotte expanded in its position as a growing innovation hub, contributing to several significant deals, including Terrestrial Energy’s $15.6M funding round in Cleantech and Petscreening’s $80M raise in tech. Although its share of total deals (approximately 6%) was smaller compared to the Triangle, the city’s performance highlights its steady
ascent in North Carolina’s entrepreneurial landscape, with emerging strengths in Cleantech, fintech, and proptech.
Notably, the strength of the Triangle region reflects its concentration of top-tier research institutions, thriving Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing sectors, and a robust network of investors. Recent developments, including UNC’s 20% growth in commercialization activities and Vulcan Elements’ 1,000-job factory announcement, underscore its momentum, while the RTP 3.0 strategic plan—approved in late 2025—aims to evolve RTP into a mixed-use live-work-play hub for equitable, sustainable growth. With over 73% of deal activity here, it remains a beacon for local and out-ofmarket investors, supported by initiatives like CED’s Venture Connect and NC IDEA’s Ecosystem Summits to foster talent and inclusive expansion.
Tracking the Triangle in Real Time
Our interdependent ecosystem of startups, investors and engaged community partners grows daily, as we pursue our goal of $20B in new enterprise value in the Triangle by 2034. To track our progress, we’ve partnered with Dealroom to visualize and assess the health of the ecosystem in real time. Find out more about our region and the startup activity that makes The Triangle one of the most vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems in the nation. We’re calling on founders and investors to claim their profiles, and ensure that your data is up-to-date so we can lean on this tool to track the Triangle in real-time.
CED is an incredible resource for founders and funders looking to get connected in the Triangle.
I’ve seen (and experienced) how programming like their Venture Connect, Investor Fly-In, and Strength In Numbers events grow local talent and raise the region’s profile with national investors.
In 2025, North Carolina’s venture scene underscored a clear bifurcation, with overall deals declining (187 vs. 209 in 2024) while big deals increased, aligning with national trends where capital concentrated into fewer, high-conviction bets amid economic caution and AI-driven efficiencies. This “more money into fewer startups” dynamic, as highlighted by Carta data showing a 130% funding surge nationally over two years against just a 3% rise in rounds, raises concerns for the mid- and lower-tier segments: while mega-rounds captured headlines, the contraction in smaller deals could signal challenges ahead for quality companies, potentially forcing them to compete in crowded markets or pivot strategies 3-5 years down the road as investor selectivity persists and liquidity timelines extend.
The contraction in smaller deals—evident in our drop from 159 early-stage investments under $5M in 2024 to just 118 in 2025—raises significant concerns for mid- and lower-tier segments, mirroring a national trend where venture capital increasingly favors established players over emerging ones. While mega-rounds captured headlines and drove 73% of NC’s total funding, this “flight to quality” has left quality companies in traditional sectors, such as Makers (down 56% to $4.7M across only 4 deals) or non-AI tech, struggling for capital, potentially forcing them to bootstrap, downsize ambitions, or pivot to ripe areas like Biotech or Cleantech to survive. Nationally, as per Crunchbase and KPMG reports, 2025 saw global VC funding surge 30% to $427B—the third-highest year on record—yet deal counts plummeted 29% in Q2 alone, with U.S. early-stage activity hitting new lows (Q4 deal count at 1,346, down 69% from 2022 peaks), exacerbating a funding cliff where smaller startups face prolonged fundraising cycles and tighter valuations due to investor caution from slow exits and LP liquidity pressures.
Looking 3-5 years ahead, this could weaken the innovation pipeline: fewer seed-funded ventures mean a thinner cohort of maturing companies ready for Series A/B rounds, stifling broader ecosystem growth and risking a lost generation of startups as selectivity endures amid economic uncertainties like interest rate fluctuations and geopolitical tensions.
Funding by Deal Size
On a positive note, bootstrapping is indeed on the rise as an adaptive strategy; reports indicate a surge in self-funding, with AI tools and no-code platforms enabling founders to validate ideas with minimal capital— national data shows bootstrapped companies growing as fast as VC-backed ones while spending far less, potentially buffering NC’s resilient hubs like the Triangle from total pipeline erosion.
engagement held steady as global investors sought refuge in U.S. markets with strong fundamentals, viewing North Carolina as a lower-risk entry point for themes like sustainability and health tech, even as currency fluctuations and trade tensions influenced allocation decisions.
By investor type, venture capital firms remained the most common funder, emphasizing targeted, later-stage deals to maximize returns in a high-interest environment, while strategic investors and corporates adopted more deliberate approaches, pursuing synergistic
opportunities in Cleantech and Life Sciences to hedge against economic volatility. Angel groups and family offices played a crucial role in bridging early-stage gaps, stepping in where larger institutions retreated, reflecting a national bifurcation where seed funding softened but growth capital strengthened. These behaviors underscore North Carolina’s adaptability: its research institutions and sector diversification beyond pure tech positioned it as a magnet for resilient capital, fostering a maturing ecosystem poised to capitalize on anticipated IPO revivals and M&A upticks as macro conditions stabilize into 2026.
Exit Activity: Continued Caution with Strategic Focus
In 2025, we saw a slight decrease in North Carolina’s exit activity at 39 total exits, compared to 59 in 2024, but still robust compared to prior years, featuring one IPO and 38 mergers, acquisitions, or buyouts. The single public debut—Terrestrial Energy’s SPAC merger to list on the NASDAQ (IMSR) in Cleantech—marked a subtle return to public markets after two years without, and perhaps foretelling a national trend where IPO momentum built in Q4 2025, with average US IPO sizes rising 70% to $510M amid stabilizing valuations and investor appetite for high-growth stories.
This shift aligns with broader US conditions, where venture exits reached near-record numbers—on track for the second-highest ever—driven by a 10% quarterly uptick in M&A activity in Q3. Exit values declined 40% from Q1 peaks due to selective buyer focus on profitable or strategic assets. Economic uncertainty and extended timelines from inflated valuations favored consolidations over riskier public offerings, yet sectors like Biotech saw surging demand, mirroring North Carolina’s emphasis on high-value private transactions.
Despite these dynamics, strategic acquirers and private equity remained discerning, prioritizing companies with
proven scalability. The Life Sciences sector led the way with blockbuster deals, including Verona Pharma’s $10B acquisition by Merck and Chimerix Inc.’s $935M sale to Jazz Pharmaceuticals, highlighting continued pharma interest in innovative therapies even as overall liquidity moderated.
The tech sector contributed through targeted M&A, such as Apiture’s acquisition by CSI (Fintech) and Devici Inc.’s buyout by Security Compass (Cybersecurity), while Cleantech showed resilience with consolidations like mesur.io’s merger with Transmute. Additional notable exits included Workplace Options’ $350M acquisition by Telus Health (HR tech) and various smaller deals across sectors, underscoring a preference for strategic synergies.
Investor appetite for sustainability and healthfocused exits persisted, aligning with national trends in Greentech and Biotech M&A. While IPOs remained limited, the state’s success in attracting premium acquisitions—bolstered by its innovation hubs— reinforces North Carolina’s appeal as an attractive landscape for M&A. As US markets continue rebounding into 2026, with accelerating M&A and IPO windows, the ecosystem is primed for enhanced liquidity for its maturing startups.
Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing Surge to the Forefront
In 2025, North Carolina’s sector mix comprising the state’s venture funding shifted significantly, with Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing emerging as the strongest forces. Together, these sectors captured over 62% of total funding ($2.1B combined), surpassing tech’s previous leadership. Life Sciences led with $1.3B (up 145% from 2024) while Advanced Manufacturing exploded 5,061% to $792M- highlighting the state’s growing role in critical materials and supply chain resilience.
Tech, while still active with 95 deals (the highest count) saw funding drop 56% to $1.1B, reflecting a national reallocation toward higher-impact sectors amid concentrated capital flows. Cleantech showed solid growth (up 75% to $161M), underscoring sustained investor interest in sustainability.
Keeping focus on total deals closed as opposed to total dollars, Advanced Manufacturing & Materials and Makers faced continued challenges—Makers funding fell 56% with only 4 deals—aligning with broader trends favoring scalable, high-growth opportunities.
Overall, 2025 trends highlight North Carolina’s maturing ecosystem: a pivot from tech reliance to diversified strength in Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing, reinforced by the state’s research institutions and strategic investments in biotech and materials innovation. This positions the state as a resilient Southeast hub, attracting capital for transformative sectors even as deal counts moderated and competition intensified for funding.
$1.3B
Life Sciences
$792M
Advanced Manufacturing
$1.1B
Tech
Cleantech $161M
Diversified Capital Flows Amid Selective Investing
North Carolina’s venture ecosystem in 2025 reflected a broader national shift toward more cautious and concentrated investing, with institutional participation contracting as investors prioritized portfolio stability and high-conviction bets amid lingering macroeconomic uncertainties. This trend, driven by easing but still elevated interest rates and geopolitical tensions, encouraged a flight to quality where capital flowed disproportionately to proven sectors like AI, biotech, and Advanced Manufacturing—areas where North Carolina excelled, attracting selective inflows despite the overall dip. Nationally, venture funding rebounded with megarounds surging, but deal volumes declined as limited partners (LPs) faced liquidity constraints from slow exits, prompting rebalancing and a focus on supporting existing holdings rather than new commitments.
Geographically, the pullback was evident in traditional venture funding locales, with reduced engagement from Northeast and Midwest investors grappling with portfolio pressures and higher operational costs in their home regions, while the slight uptick from the West (particularly California) signaled a strategic pivot toward North Carolina’s cost-effective innovation hubs like the Research Triangle, where biotech and materials advancements offered diversification from Silicon Valley’s AI-heavy focus. Southeastern participation, though moderated, remained resilient due to local familiarity and the state’s growing reputation for stable, high-impact opportunities, bolstered by government-backed programs and economic incentives that mitigated broader macro headwinds like inflation and supply chain disruptions. Internationally,
MARCH 24–25
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CED is a nonprofit organization that provides support to the entrepreneurial community by deploying its own resources and resources from the CED Network of Partners. Donations made directly to CED enable us to track entrepreneurial and investor activity, then report out to you on an annual basis. For information on how you can support the work of CED, please contact us at 919.549.7500 or visit https://cednc.org.
Information obtained from: CED, Dealroom, PitchBook, Carta, Crunchbase, KPMG, National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Small Business Technology Development Center (SBTDC), The Business Journals, NCIDEA, EY, PwC & SBIR.gov.
