Women in Startups & Venture Capital: Global Highlights from January to July 2025

🧭 A Turning Point (But Still an Uneven Path)

As we cross mid-2025, the global startup ecosystem continues to evolve. But when we zoom in on women-led startups, the data reveals a mixed landscape: powerful progress, persistent funding gaps, and courageous new ventures—especially in July 2025.

Here’s our roundup of the most important headlines from January to July 2025, spotlighting the women who are changing the game.

🚀 1. Auxxo Capital Launches €26 Million Female Catalyst Fund II (Germany)

The Berlin-based, women-led VC firm Auxxo Capital announced the first close of €26 million for their Female Catalyst Fund II.

Goal: Invest exclusively in female-founded startups across Europe
Why it matters: Europe still struggles with equitable startup funding. Auxxo’s fund is one of the few aggressively tackling this problem at scale.

🇬🇧 2. UK Government Commits £50M to Female-Led VC Funds

As part of a broader £450 million Inclusive VC Strategy, the UK government earmarked £50 million specifically for female-led VC funds.

Impact: Aims to reshape the funding pipeline for women entrepreneurs
Timeline: Initiatives begin rolling out in late 2025

🤖 3. Kinhive Launches to Solve the Co-Founder Problem

A new women-led startup called Kinhive launched in July 2025 to tackle a unique pain point: finding trustworthy co-founders.

What it does: Uses AI to match founders by personality, values, and vision
Why it’s bold: Many women struggle to find reliable co-founders in early stages—this tool levels the playing field

📈 4. Women Now Hold 18.6% of VC Decision-Making Roles

A July 2025 industry report shows that 18.6% of senior VC roles globally are now held by women (up from 10.9% in 2018).

Why it matters: More female VCs = higher chances of women founders getting funded
Still far to go: 81.4% of those power positions are still male-dominated

💸 5. Chicago VC Funding for Women Drops Sharply

Despite overall U.S. startup growth, VC funding for female-led startups in Chicago saw a steep drop:

2024: $926 million in funding across 86 deals
First Half of 2025: Only $220 million across 28 deals
Takeaway: Women are building high-impact companies, but local ecosystems aren’t keeping pace in support

🧠 6. Shocking Data: Women Founders Receive 2.3% of VC — but Deliver 24% of Top Exits

A mid-2025 VC industry study showed:

Only 2.3% of VC funds went to startups with all-female founding teams
Yet they were responsible for 24% of the top exits
Conclusion: The gender funding gap has nothing to do with performance

🗣️ Final Word: It’s Time to Fund Women Like We Mean It

From Europe to the U.S., the first half of 2025 brought both bold investments in women and startling data showing how much work remains.

Platforms like Chirp Stories are here to not just report—but to amplify the journeys of women founders globally.

💬 Know a founder we should feature next?

Message us. Tag them. Or write to @chirpstories2@gmail.com

Prakhar Jain