The Future of Venture Capital: Unlocking Liquidity and Growth

World Economic Forum

Guillaume Hingel, Ilya Strebulaev

Research

46 Pages

World Economic Forum examines how venture capital’s liquidity model, global scale up gaps, and AI driven capital needs are reshaping innovation finance. VC backed companies remain central to growth, but nearly $3 trillion of unrealized value is now sitting inside fund balance sheets.

Key Takeaways

Liquidity Is Stuck: Roughly 1,920 private unicorns hold more than $7.3 trillion in valuation, leaving about $3 trillion unrealized inside VC funds.
Scale Remains Concentrated: Northern America and Asia account for 81% of private unicorns, while Europe holds 13.4% and sub Saharan Africa just 0.4%.
AI Changes Funding: AI captured more than 50% of global VC deal value in 2025, with five companies raising a combined $84 billion.
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