Consumers and businesses are projected to spend more than $6 trillion on e-commerce retail platforms this year. Nonetheless, startup investors are finding fewer deals they like in the space.
The broad trend: While investors are still backing some big rounds, overall funding to e-commerce startup categories has declined in 2025. Even so, we are seeing some bright spots, including quick delivery, livestream shopping and AI-enabled e-commerce.
The numbers: So far in this year, investors put around $7.3 billion into global e-commerce-related startup funding rounds. That puts 2025 on track to deliver the sector’s lowest investment tally in years.
Funding remains stuck at a fraction of its peak four years ago, and deal counts are also way down. To illustrate, we charted investment for the past six calendar years below.
U.S. e-commerce funding, by contrast, looks on track to be relatively flat year over year. Even so, investment is down more than 80% from the peak.
Noteworthy recent rounds: Food and grocery delivery continue to be major themes for e-commerce funding.
In the U.S., the largest financing along these lines went to New York-based Wonder, a food takeout and delivery startup that raised $600 million in May at a reported $7 billion valuation. A sort of modernized version of the food court, Wonder lets customers order a selection of different cuisines from a single location.
Indian e-commerce unicorn Zepto, which offers quick deliveries of groceries and household supplies, also did well, snagging $450 million last month at a $7 billion valuation.
Live shopping platform Whatnot was also a venture favorite, securing $225 million in an October Series F. The San Francisco-based company said it has surpassed $6 billion in live sales this year.
Below, we look at nine of the leading e-commerce fundraisers of 2025.
The broad takeaway: A mature space, but newcomers can still find niche markets.
Early adopters have been buying stuff online for roughly three decades now, and early entrant Amazon is now a $2.6 trillion company. Suffice it to say, e-commerce is a fairly mature space, leaving limited new addressable markets for startups.
That said, we haven’t reached the zenith of on-demand commerce, and, as Whatnot’s rise exemplifies, buyers are always looking for a compelling new shopping experience. As AI technology advances, we’re also likely to see more startups finding innovative ways to apply it to e-commerce.
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