What the world overlooked in 2025

When Nvidia briefly crossed the $5T mark and reshuffled the leaderboard of the world’s most valuable companies, it dominated every feed. The same was true for OpenAI’s multi-billion funding saga and the record-setting AI chips arms race. These stories were impossible to miss.

But while the world obsessed over a handful of markets, entirely different breakthroughs unfolded across Elsewhere markets. Most never saw that a Bulgarian space-tech company raised one of the largest frontier-tech rounds of the year. Or that AOL got a second life thanks to an Italian decacorn.

These are big feats, but when the spotlight is calibrated to a narrow slice of the world, everything outside it appears dimmer than it really is. That’s the attention gap: a world conditioned to look for innovation in the same familiar places.

Transformation doesn’t always make the front page. But it leaves clues. As we end this year and enter the next, we invite you to bridge the gap and separate hype from real, global advancement.

Here are some stories from our parts of the world you may have missed this year.

1. Bending Spoons acquired Vimeo, AOL, and Eventbrite

The holding company — which now owns well-known apps like Evernote, Remini, Splice, and many more  — has begun to use AI as a merger and acquisition tool, power-boosting their already powerful eye for companies with the potential to take off and resulting in even bigger brands making it into their portfolio in 2025. From humble bootstrapped beginnings, Bending Spoons was valued at $11B in October.

Behind the headline: While the AI infrastructure layer becomes commoditized, it’s in this application layer that countries outside typical VC hubs are set to take off. Like Bending Spoons, several companies elsewhere have been redefining how — and where — AI titans are built.

2. EnduroSat, a Bulgarian pioneer in global space tech, closed a $104M round

Led by Endeavor Entrepreneur Raycho Raychev, EnduroSat raised $104M to accelerate production of modular satellites that can perform multiple missions, cutting costs and drastically accelerating time to orbit.

Behind the headline: As frontier tech blossoms across sectors — from biotech to deep-space infrastructure — and geographies, it’s clear we’re in a new era of rapid innovation, with emerging hubs like Sofia, Buenos Aires, and Warsaw shaping the future of space itself.

3. Nigeria’s Moniepoint and Flutterwave made TIME100’s Most Influential Companies

Two of Nigeria’s five unicorns are led by Endeavor Entrepreneurs and have continued their rapid ascent this year. Flutterwave, valued at $3B, processed more than $31B in payments across nearly three dozen African markets and expanded its money transfer services to almost every US state. Moniepoint, which reached unicorn status in 2024, now serves over 10 million customers, powers more than a billion monthly transactions, and is extending its footprint through moves like its now-approved acquisition of Kenya’s Sumac Bank.

Behind the headline: With a global mindset, institutional-grade systems, trusted regulatory relationships, and access to growing pools of capital, companies like Flutterwave, Moniepoint, LemFi, and Moove are positioning Nigeria as Africa’s tech epicenter — and as one of the world’s most important launchpads for cross-border fintech innovation.

4. ElevenLabs partnered with Ukraine to accelerate AI-enabled public services

Polish AI powerhouse ElevenLabs has partnered with the government of Ukraine to make public services faster and more accessible through AI-powered voice interfaces — including a digital twin of Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov on the secure messaging app Telegram. The collaboration unfolds just as the country launches its first state-level AI infrastructure, the AI Factory, built to support high-performance computing, data storage, software tooling, and training ecosystems across government, industry, and defense.

Behind the headline: AI is no longer being shaped by a handful of hubs but by a constellation of ecosystems building technology rooted in local needs and values. Beyond Silicon Valley, the broader discussion emphasizes why global participation in AI matters to ensure this transformation reflects the whole world.

5. Rain raised $58M to expand stablecoin-backed financial services

Led by Endeavor Entrepreneurs Farooq Malik and Charles Naut, Rain raised a $58M Series B to help businesses offer stablecoin-backed Visa cards, enabling users to spend stablecoins for everyday transactions.

Behind the headline: As stablecoins become the backbone of a new global financial system, thriving especially in markets where currencies lack trust, Rain is one of several Endeavor companies building in this space — including M0, Felix, and Zone — reflecting a strong trend in global VC trends we expect to see in 2026.

6. GoTyme Bank and Alpaca launched crypto trading in the Philippines

The Philippines’ fastest-growing bank has entered the crypto space. GoTyme Bank — a joint venture between South African unicorn and Endeavor company Tyme Group and the Gokongwei Group — announced a new cryptocurrency investment feature built in partnership with Alpaca, an Endeavor company from Japan, powering access to crypto, stocks, ETFs, options, and more. The move taps into one of the world’s most crypto-engaged populations, where roughly 10% of Filipinos already use digital assets; adoption is expected to surpass 12 million users by next year.

Behind the headline: With 76% of the population still unbanked or under-banked, the Philippines shows how digital-first financial tools have become a gateway to economic participation. What’s striking in this moment is how breakthrough fintech models are now circulating horizontally across emerging markets: Tyme scaling from South Africa to Asia, Alpaca expanding from Japan into Southeast Asia — entrepreneurs exporting solutions to one another rather than waiting for governments or big institutions to set the pace. It’s part of a broader pattern of Elsewhere ecosystems learning from and building with each other, much like Nubank’s investment in Tyme linked South Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.