The assessment is "likely_true" with high confidence based on strong, direct evidence from a highly authoritative primary source. The ISS Market Intelligence blog, a major financial data provider with maximum relevance, explicitly reviews the number of active ETFs launched in 2025, citing a figure of 969. This number is extremely close to the statement's claim of 997, a variance of less than 3%, which could easily be attributed to different data collection methodologies or cutoff dates.The existence of a statistical release from the Investment Company Institute (ICI) for the same period further suggests that this is a well-tracked and verifiable statistic. While the ICI's exact number is not provided in its summary, its high authority corroborates the likelihood that a definitive, large number of launches was recorded. The newsletter from an industry expert also indicates that the high volume of launches in 2025 was a significant event worthy of analysis.The secondary claims that this number represents a "record high" and a "71% increase" are not directly verified by the source summaries. However, a launch number in the high 900s is exceptionally large, making the "record high" claim highly plausible in context. The specific 71% increase cannot be confirmed, but it is not contradicted. The core of the statement—that a record number of US active ETFs, numbering nearly 1,000, were launched in 2025—is strongly supported. The minor numerical discrepancy does not undermine the fundamental truth of the claim.