Venture Capital in Focus: Q1 Key Trends Driving the Industry Forward

VC Lab recently hosted one of our most anticipated events: the Venture Trends Webinar. This quarterly gathering has become the go to for spotting the trends set to shake up the venture capital world.

What makes it so special? It’s all about the community. Every quarter, we survey Limited Partners (LPs), General Partners (GPs), emerging managers, and other industry professionals to get real insights straight from the front lines.

This quarter’s feedback revealed valuable insights into transformative areas such as AI, deep tech, robotics, health and biotech, liquidity, and more. With over 400 responses, the data highlighted the key trends poised to drive significant impact. Here’s an overview of the 5 top trends that are driving the industry forward:

• AI
• Deep Tech & Robotics
• Liquidity & IPO
• Health & Biotech
• Crypto & DeFi

A Community Driven Approach to Industry Insights

Beyond providing an avenue to share our survey findings, our Venture Trends events are also a way for industry professionals to discuss key industry trends at our virtual networking tables. Each table dives deep into a specific trend, giving participants a chance to exchange ideas, share insights, and talk strategy about the big shifts shaping venture capital.

For this Q1 Venture Trends event, participants zeroed in on five major trends that are likely to have an outsize impact on the industry:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI): Driving Change Across Industries

AI took center stage in this quarter’s discussions, with participants showing a keen interest in AI’s promising potential in areas such as healthtech. AI’s impact on regulated industries was also a topic of discussion, with participants identifying several bottlenecks currently preventing AI applications from fully unlocking their transformative power. Another topic of interest was how AI might impact the VC industry itself, with AI-driven platforms having the potential to completely reshape the way funds operate and invest.

2. Deep Tech & Robotics: Bridging Innovation and Market Realities

Deep tech enjoyed a resurgence of interest this quarter, with participants leading a lively discussion on the need for practical, market-ready solutions in areas like robotics, smart cities, and energy-efficient infrastructure.

3. Liquidity & IPOs: Navigating the Path to Viable Exits

With economic uncertainty continuing to pose challenges to traditional exit strategies, participants agreed that operational sustainability was still a top priority for startups. The discussion also touched on concerns over broader economic headwinds, such as tariffs and fluctuating interest rates, adding  more uncertainty to pathways for IPOs and other liquidity events.

4. Health & Biotech: Transforming Lives Through Innovation

The power of personalized medicine continues to captivate investors this quarter. However, this excitement was tempered by concerns over the regulatory challenges that could prevent new treatments from achieving a sufficiently large scale. Investors also touched on the demographic trend of aging populations creating a growing need for innovations to alleviate aging-related diseases.

5. Crypto & DeFi: Charting the Future of Blockchain Innovation

The intersection of blockchain and AI continues to captivate investors, in particular when it comes to the role of blockchain technologies in helping to scale AI infrastructure. The discussion this quarter also focused on the potential impact of the MICA regulatory framework in driving broader crypto adoption, as well as on the regional challenges around the world that continue to impact the adoption of alternative financial instruments.

Shaping the Future of Venture Capital

As we wrap up this quarter’s Venture Trends event, we’re grateful for the insights shared by our community. Venture Trends isn’t just a reflection of where venture capital is today it’s a forum to shape where it’s heading. We look forward to continuing these discussions and exploring how we can collectively shape a stronger, more innovative VC landscape.

Stay tuned for our next events as we take these conversations further and shape what’s next for venture capital.

About The Author

Adeo Ressi

Adeo Ressi is CEO of Decile Group, powering the next generation of venture capital firms worldwide with an integrated offering of training, tools, and capital. Adeo has launched 14 venture capital funds and founded 11 startups, having nearly $2 billion in exits before 30.

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