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Venture investors conflicted over rising valuations of emerging technology startups

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PitchBook, the premier data provider for private and public equity markets, today released the findings from a new survey conducted in partnership with Web Summit, the world’s largest technology event according to the Financial Times. The survey,  PitchBook-Web Summit Venture Investor Surveyexamines venture capital (VC) investment preferences in emerging technologies like AI, mobility, fintech, blockchain and more, alongside investor sentiment of the current economic climate. According to the findings, VCs are most bullish on AI/ML but have concerns over rising valuations and the rate at which unprofitable technology companies have entered the public markets.

The survey was administered to 264 VC investors at Web Summit and Venture, an invite-only event at the conference gathering leaders from funds like Seedcamp, Blackstone, Union Square Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Earlybird and more.

“It’s not necessarily surprising VC investors responding to our survey are still prioritizing growth over profitability, given the very nature of venture capital; however, their view that rising valuations are overall negative for the venture industry is a noteworthy shift,” said Steve Bendt, VP of Marketing at PitchBook. “High levels of capital availability and a preference for larger deals across all stages has helped fuel rapid growth and rising valuations. And according to PitchBook data, larger deals and valuations are likely to persist, meaning we have yet to see the full impact of the growth over profitability trend.”

“It’s interesting to see that even with the current questions regarding non-profitable startups, investors are still set on growth as the most important measure. Without any major market correction between private market valuations and public ones, it will continue to drive up the price they’re going to have to pay to invest in early-stage startup,” said Paddy Cosgrave, CEO and founder of Web Summit.

To download this data graphic to learn more about the key findings below, click here.

Opportunity
Venture investment in technology sectors has consistently increased over the last 10 years, making up nearly 40% of total VC investment so far in 2019. Nearly 70% of survey respondents agree investment will continue growing as there is an overabundance of quality investment targets within these sectors. Of the emerging technology sectors attracting venture investment, AI/ML (28%), healthtech (16%) and fintech (13%) were identified by respondents as the categories with the greatest disruption potential over the next five to 10 years. When evaluating investment opportunities in these sectors, almost one third (31%) of respondents cited executive team pedigree as the most important criterion, followed by business model (27%) and disruption potential (23%).

Profitability
Interestingly, only 19% of respondents cited path to profitability as a criterion when evaluating investment opportunities in emerging technology sectors. In fact, 72% strongly agreed or agreed that growth must come before profit for VC-backed emerging technology companies. At the same time, 86% of respondents were very concerned or somewhat concerned about the rate at which unprofitable technology firms have been going public – an outcome of the current environment of easy fundraising to offset high cash burn. According to PitchBook data, nearly 90% of VC-backed IPOs in 2019 were unprofitable at the time of IPO.

Threats
The looming global recession was top of mind for VC investors, with more than half (61%) preparing their fund for a global downturn. However, more broadly, rising valuations were cited as the greatest threat facing the VC-backed emerging technology industry (53%), followed by geopolitical events and regulatory challenges (34%) and competition from corporates and PE investors (13%). Over 86% of respondents agree or strongly agree that growing deals sizes and valuations, especially of emerging technology companies, are negative overall for the venture industry. So far in 2019, median early-stage valuation step-ups have reached 2.14x – a decade high. Download the data graphic here.

 

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SOURCE PitchBook

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NYSE Content Advisory: Pre-Market update + Wall Street sees highest volume in at least 18 years

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NEW YORK, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) provides a daily pre-market update directly from the NYSE Trading Floor. Access today’s NYSE Pre-market update for market insights before trading begins. .

Kristen Scholer delivers the pre-market update on April 8th

  • Wall Street witnessed its highest trading volume in at least 18 years with the S&P index closing down 0.23% yesterday after briefly falling into a bear market.
  • President Donald Trump announced that Japan is sending a team to negotiate on trade and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said yesterday that almost 70 countries have contacted the White House regarding tariff discussions.
  • Global markets traded higher overnight with Japan’s Nikkei index ending up 6% while China’s Shanghai benchmark rose 1.6%.

Watch NYSE TV Live every weekday 9:00-10:00am ET 

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AB Crosses the Singularity: Building a New Generation of Secure and Scalable Infrastructure for Decentralized Applications and Assets

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SINGAPORE, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In early April, at a bustling Web3 gathering in Hong Kong, a crypto investor from Dubai named Ahmed shared a story that captured the attention of the room.

“When I recovered my three-year-old BEP2 tokens using AB Wallet, it felt like discovering a long-lost treasure in the digital world,” he said. “It wasn’t just a technical recovery. It was the moment I felt reconnected—like the system had found me again.”

These “orphaned assets” had long slipped from his memory. But AB DAO’s global cross-chain recovery initiative not only returned his funds—it also restored his sense of trust and participation in a growing ecosystem.

Ahmed is far from alone.

Over the past three months, millions like him have witnessed AB’s transformation—from an early experiment in DAO governance into a next-generation infrastructure for secure, scalable decentralized applications and digital assets.

AB Core: The Engine Connecting Real-World Economies to On-Chain Value

Following a comprehensive brand upgrade, AB launched its flagship blockchain, AB Core—a high-throughput, low-latency network that offers one-second block times and near-zero transaction fees. Fully compatible with Ethereum, AB Core is purpose-built to bridge the gap between decentralized infrastructure and real-world economies.

“We didn’t build AB Core to be just another Layer-1,” said Brian, AB’s Global Head of Brand. “We built it to solve the core pain points of today’s blockchain landscape—performance bottlenecks, poor user experience, and limited real-world adoption.”

Through a modular architecture and industry-specific sidechains, AB Core is tailored for real-world verticals like IoT, finance, and payments.

The former AB mainnet has been rebranded as AB IoT, and will now operate as a dedicated sidechain optimized for device data and off-chain asset interactions.

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AB has also entered a strategic partnership with Alpha Technology Group Limited (ATGL)—a Hong Kong-based AI leader and the first AI company from Hong Kong to be listed on Nasdaq (Ticker: ATGL). Together, the two plan to explore groundbreaking applications at the intersection of AI and IoT.

AB Wallet: A Secure, Frictionless Portal to Decentralized Finance

If AB Core is the superhighway of digital value, AB Wallet is the user on-ramp. Built on MPC (Multi-Party Computation) architecture, it ensures non-custodial security while integrating gasless transactions, AI-driven UX recommendations, and seamless fiat on/off-ramps.

AB Wallet also supports stablecoin payments, card integration, Web3 social and content access, a Dapp gateway, and SDK modules for developers—making it a comprehensive hub for users and builders alike.

“Recovering my BEP2 tokens was as easy as sending an email,” said Ahmed. “I didn’t even need to understand what a cross-chain bridge is. That’s how intuitive AB Wallet is.”

Stablecoins and Payments: Building the Foundation for On-Chain Liquidity

At the core of AB’s economic infrastructure is its stablecoin protocol—designed to enable seamless flows between fiat-backed assets and on-chain value. Deployed on AB Core, the stablecoin framework includes transparent reserves, multi-jurisdictional custodianship, and native cross-chain issuance capabilities. Deep wallet integration ensures an efficient and intuitive user experience.

“Stablecoins solve crypto’s biggest usability challenge: volatility,” Brian said. “Once people stop worrying whether their coffee will double or halve in value tomorrow, blockchain payments will finally be ready for everyday use.”

By combining stablecoins with gasless architecture, AB is creating a frictionless, borderless payment system designed for billions of users.

From One Million to Ten: The User Explosion

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AB’s relaunch has fueled exponential growth. On the exchange side, AB has been listed on Bitget, HTX, Gate.io, MEXC, BingX, BitMart, Lbank, and other global platforms—along with airdrop campaigns distributing millions of dollars in value to new users.

On the community front, AB DAO launched a global cross-chain recovery campaign in March, targeting over 20,000 legacy BEP2 addresses. The effort not only safeguarded user assets, but also rekindled long-dormant engagement and revitalized on-chain identity participation.

Today, AB’s global community spans more than 100 countries with active language hubs in English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, and Filipino.

“When I rejoined the AB community, I realized it wasn’t just about price anymore,” said Ahmed. “From Taipei to Dubai, from New York to Mumbai—people are building this together.”

Brian adds, “In Q1 alone, we onboarded over 1 million new exchange users, and our global community surpassed 10 million members. Our target is to grow that number by several million more by year-end.”

Ecosystem Growth: DeFi, RWA, and Web3 Entertainment

With the core infrastructure now in place, AB is scaling outwards into a multi-dimensional ecosystem built on three verticals:

DeFi Services: Core modules like lending, staking, trading, and yield aggregation are now live or in development.

RWA (Real-World Asset) Integration: Using a compliant framework for tokenizing off-chain rights and ownership, AB is building pathways for real-world assets to exist on-chain.

Digital Entertainment: Supporting creator economies, interactive platforms, and virtual asset marketplaces, AB aims to become a key player in the emerging Web3 cultural economy.

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“We’re not here to rehash existing DeFi blueprints,” Brian explained. “Our goal is to meaningfully connect Web3 innovation with real-world value—and to bring traditional players into this ecosystem.”

Compliance First: AB DAO’s Long-Term Strategy

Unlike many Web3 projects, AB DAO treats compliance not as an afterthought, but as a core design principle. “We see compliance not as a moat, but as a bridge,” said Brian. “It brings peace of mind to users and lowers the barrier for global adoption.”

AB DAO has established the AB Charity Foundation in Ireland to support education, public goods, and technology-for-good initiatives. The team is also advancing stablecoin regulatory frameworks, including fiat reserve audits and multi-jurisdictional legal structures to ensure secure operations worldwide.

A Vision for the Future: Rebuilding the World’s Value Infrastructure

In just three months, AB has gone from a rebrand to a renaissance. But its momentum is part of a larger story—the story of how Web3 is finally moving from ideology to infrastructure.

AB isn’t just a chain. Or a DAO. Or a token. It is the blueprint for a new financial system—one that transcends borders, operates without centralized control, and runs securely at global scale.

With a “technology + application + community” approach, AB is building an open value system that empowers users, developers, and assets to move freely—and reshape the architecture of the digital world.

“Every step we take at AB,” said Brian, “is a step toward a more secure, more inclusive digital future.”

AB DAO’s Global Ecosystem Continues to Expand

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Users can now trade $AB on the following exchanges: Bitget, HTX, MEXC, Gate, BingX, BitMart, DigiFinex, Lbank, Hotcoin, UEEx, WEEX, and 4E, with upcoming listings on Biconomy and BTSE. In the near future, $AB will continue to launch on more exchanges, broaden ecosystem use cases, and accelerate global growth.

AB DAO’s Mission: To Empower 100 Million People Worldwide to Hold $AB!

 Official Website: https://ab.org

 X (Twitter): https://x.com/ABDAO_Global

 Telegram Global Channel: https://t.me/ABGlobalNews

 Telegram (English): https://t.me/Newtonproject

 Telegram (Chinese): https://t.me/ABCNCommunity 

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Volta Medical Appoints Bill Hoffman as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors

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MARSEILLE, France, April 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Volta Medical, a pioneering health technology company developing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to assist electrophysiologists, today announced the appointment of Bill Hoffman as Executive Chairman of its Board of Directors.

Bill brings a track record of guiding innovative startups to global success. As former Chief Executive Officer of Inari Medical, Hoffman oversaw the company’s growth from early-stage concept to a publicly traded company with over $500 million in revenue and a significant clinical impact in venous thromboembolism treatment. Inari Medical was acquired by Stryker for $4.9B in February 2025.

“We are honored to welcome Bill Hoffman as Executive Chairman,” said Théophile Mohr-Durdez, CEO and co-founder of Volta Medical. “Bill’s experience building, commercializing, and scaling, disruptive medical technologies will be invaluable as we accelerate global access to our AI-driven solutions for cardiac ablation.”

 “Volta’s technology has demonstrated, for the first time in the history of ablation, a clinically important and statistically significant improvement in efficacy outcomes for patients with AFib”, said Hoffman. “How cool is that? I am so excited to join the Volta team and mission to impact our patients in the most amazing ways”. 

In addition to Bill’s appointment, Volta’s Board has also appointed Jerome Kalifa, MD, PhD to the role of Executive Vice Chairman. Dr Kalifa will also continue to serve in the role of Chief Medical Officer. “We are excited to work with Bill on this mission. We are committed to eliminating AFib, impacting as many patients as possible, as fast as possible,” said Dr Kalifa.

This leadership appointment follows the recent publication of the landmark TAILORED-AF clinical trial in Nature Medicine, which demonstrated that an AI-guided procedure using Volta’s technology, in combination with conventional pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), resulted in significantly improved outcomes for patients with persistent atrial fibrillation compared to PVI alone.

About Atrial Fibrillation

The American Heart Association (AHA) defines atrial fibrillation (AF) as a quivering or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications.1 Approximately 33 million patients worldwide are living with AF.2,3 Even though untreated AF doubles the risk of heart-related deaths and is associated with a 5-fold increased risk for stroke, many patients are unaware that AF is a serious condition. It is estimated that only 15% of the eligible 2.5 million US patients with AF are currently being treated with catheter ablation.4

About Volta Medical

Volta Medical is a health technology company developing artificial intelligence software solutions with the aim of assisting cardiac electrophysiologists during arrhythmia treatment procedures to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Founded by three physicians and a data scientist in 2016 in Marseille, France, the company’s mission is to improve cardiac arrhythmia management by developing state-of-the-art, data-driven medical devices trained on large databases of procedural data. The Volta AF-Xplorer is a digital AI companion designed to assist cardiologists with real-time identification of specific abnormal electrograms (EGMs) known as spatio-temporal dispersed EGMs during AF and atrial tachycardia procedures. The AF-Xplorer has been engineered for versatility and its use has been demonstrated with the most popular AF mapping and recording systems, as well as with the most common ablation modalities. The solution is U.S. FDA 510(k) cleared and European CE Mark approved. Volta Medical has created a therapy awareness program AI for Persistent AF Care designed to educate the underserved AF patient community, for more information, visit www.aiforafib.com.

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Media Contact 
Molly Megna, Sr. Marketing Manager
Volta Medical
molly.megna@volta-medical.com

References 

  1. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/atrial-fibrillation [last accessed June 9, 2023]
  2. Colilla S, Crow A, Petku W, Singer DE, Simon T, Liu X. Estimates of current and future incidence and prevalence of atrial fibrillation in the U.S. adult population. Am J Cardiol 2013; 112:1142–1147. DOI: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.05.063
  3. https://kompetenznetz-vorhofflimmern.de/en [last accessed June 9, 2023]
  4. https://mddionline.com/cardiovascular/medtronic-makes-a-double-play-for-atrial-fibrillation

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