The startup acquisition market has been thriving this year, highlighted by the recent $32 billion purchase of cybersecurity startup Wiz. This signals Silicon Valley's optimism towards the Trump administration's antitrust policies and offers venture-backed companies a pathway to exit.

Data from CB Insights shows that there have been 11 startup acquisitions exceeding $1 billion so far this year, totaling $54.5 billion. This surpasses the records set in previous quarters. In comparison, the first quarter of last year saw just two startup acquisitions over $1 billion, bringing in a mere $3.2 billion.

Google's acquisition of Wiz stands as the largest deal ever for a venture-backed startup. This follows a series of significant transactions, including SoftBank Group Corp.'s purchase of chip designer Ampere Computing LLC for $6.5 billion, Scopely Inc.'s acquisition of Niantic Inc.'s gaming business for $3.5 billion, and PepsiCo Inc.'s deal to buy soda startup Poppi for nearly $2 billion. Deals in the artificial intelligence sector have been particularly active, with acquisitions such as CoreWeave's purchase of Weights & Biases for $1.7 billion and ServiceNow Inc.'s acquisition of Moveworks for $2.85 billion in March.

Investors in Silicon Valley are set to benefit greatly from the increased number of deals after a prolonged period of limited acquisitions and IPOs, which had left them and employees without liquidity. The growth in acquisitions marks a positive shift for the industry after facing challenges in recent years.