DC jumps to $1.9B in Q3, with late-stage companies dominating deals 

After a slow second quarter, companies in the DC region reported historic venture capital investment — though one energy company pooled a significant amount of the cash. 

Firms in the DMV accrued $1.9 billion across 80 deals in the third quarter of 2025, a spike from the $674.9 million raised in previous three months. There were 77 deals in the metro region that quarter, meaning these transactions in Q3 are much larger, according to the latest Venture Monitor report released quarterly by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.

Most of the top deals in the DMV were large and late-stage investments, according to the data. This signals that investors are still highly selective, per Jeff Reid, founding director of the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative. 

“It’s encouraging headline data, but founders shouldn’t read too much into it,” Reid told Technical.ly. “The median deal size hasn’t necessarily grown, and most of the money still goes to later-stage companies. Early-stage startups in DC will still need to work hard to differentiate themselves.”

One of those colossal deals was X-Energy — the company nabbed $779 million in a Series C1, though that raise was originally reported in the first quarter, and a portion of it was flagged in the last quarter of 2024. 

PitchBook analysts included the round in Q1 because of a press release posted by X-Energy in February, and included it in Q4 because of a fall 2024 article in CNBC. The data was reconfigured for this last quarter because of an SEC filing from the company, press relations manager Gaby May said. (Over years of reporting on this data, we’ve noticed this kind of fluctuation in quarterly numbers is common.)

Subtracting that deal, venture capital activity is more steady in the region, Reid explained. 

“Venture activity often moves in fits and starts in this region, and one or two large energy or defense-related rounds — like X-Energy’s — can dramatically move quarterly totals,” he said. 

Other large recent raises include IT security company ID.me’s $340 million Series E and autonomous software Auterion’s $130 million Series B. 

DC hit similar investment numbers in 2022’s first quarter at $2 billion, and in 2021’s second quarter at $2.6 billion. 

How Trump policies play into local investments 

This major investment in a nuclear energy company isn’t surprising to Michelle Urben, general partner at the new Synergos Fund in DC.

She noted President Donald Trump’s spring executive order focuses on accelerating the development of nuclear technology, and emphasized that push as a national security imperative in the announcement. 

Those federal moves should also spur startups to establish a presence in DC, Urben said.    

“Startups are forming along these national competitiveness and national security priorities where DC is zero mile post,” Urben told Technical.ly, “and should receive VC funding, perhaps more than other regions, as this is where policy makers, founders and funders naturally engage.”

Reid agrees this administration’s energy focus is translating to venture capital investments. 

But if the prioritization of climate and science research funding continues, that could change investment in related innovations, he said. 

“Venture capital doesn’t turn on a dime with politics, but sentiment does shift,” per Reid. “Some investors see opportunity in deregulation or increased defense spending, while others worry about cuts to federal R&D or international collaboration. The net effect so far seems modest.”

Because of the mass layoffs and general uncertainty at the federal level, Reid predicts there will be a spike in workers launching their own startups, but he noted it may take a few years for that to manifest in venture capital data. 

DC’s activity compared to other US regions

In the third quarter, areas across the Mid-Atlantic reported steady or dipped investment. For example, Pittsburgh nabbed $19.4 million after a busy second quarter valued at $977.3 million. Baltimore landed $95 million, though a couple of deals dominated. 

Fundraising is continuing to slow across the US, wrote Nizar Tarhuni, the executive vice president of research and market intelligence at PitchBook. But there’s some hope. 

“Liquidity remains constrained, and fundraising continues to lag amid ongoing market hesitancy, driven by years of capital influx the industry was ultimately unable to absorb,” Tarhuni commented. “Still, some signs of progress are emerging as IPOs return and new paths to liquidity open — particularly for tech startups benefiting from favorable policy environments.”

Urben from the Synergos Fund also noted this lack of exits is affecting investment. 

“If we factor in more favorable IPO conditions, we could see a nice bump in venture deal investments from investors cycling back cash to startups,” she said. 

DC and the US are not hitting 2021 highs, per Reid, but said the region “has held up relatively well.”

“Its steady deal count,” Reid said, “and strong presence in energy, defense, and cybersecurity have cushioned it from the broader tech-sector pullback.”