In 2025, interest in venture capital (VC) in Pakistan reached a new high — at least online. Google Trends recorded a fresh peak in search activity. But investor capital did not follow.

While global VC funding grew by 6 percent last year, Pakistan moved in the opposite direction. Total VC inflows fell by 70 percent to just USD 22.5 million. This followed an already weak 2023, when funding had barely crossed USD 76 million. By contrast, regional peers raised significantly more: India attracted USD 13.7 billion (up 43 percent year-on-year), while even Bangladesh, despite a pullback, secured USD 41 million.

Most of the global VC rebound remained concentrated in the United States. According to Dealroom, US-based startups accounted for nearly 57 percent of total VC funding in 2024. That shift matters. With most of that capital retained within American borders, the US-backed wellspring of VC funding for Pakistani startups has run dry.

Amid this capital drought, only a handful of funds appear to........

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