First Cut – State of Private Markets: Q1 2023

First Cut – State of Private Markets: Q1 2023

Author: Peter Walker
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Read time:  1 minute
Published date:  April 3, 2023
In Q1 2023, fundraising continued to decline at most stages while valuations rebounded at Series A and B. Learn more in our preview report.

Every quarter, Carta releases information on the startup ecosystem in our State of Private Markets report. It can take a few weeks for rounds to be recorded on our  platform, so we  publish a full analysis after we get the final numbers.  

However, we also publish a “first cut” of data as close to the end of the quarter as possible. Again, the Q1 numbers will shift somewhat as more rounds get recorded on the Carta platform, but we hope these metrics can be guideposts for people raising rounds in the coming days. 

So how did Q1 shake out? 

In early-stage venture, it looks as though valuations have slightly recovered from recent lows. Series A, B, and C companies saw slightly higher valuations in Q1 2023 than in Q4 2022. 

Companies raising Series D rounds and beyond continued to see valuations fall. And round sizes have shrunk across the board, meaning founders are being asked to make do with less capital.

We’ll publish our full set of quarterly data next month. You can sign up for our Data Minute newsletter to receive the full data direct to your inbox here.

Seed and Series A median pre-money valuation by stage and quarter, Q12020-Q12023Seed and Series A median cash raised by stage and quarter, Q1 2020-Q12023 Series B and C median pre-money valuation by stage and quarter, Q12020-Q12023Series B and C median cash raised by stage and quarter, Q1 2020-Q12023Series D and E+ median pre-money valuation by stage and quarter, Q12020-Q12023Series D and E+ median cash raised by stage and quarter, Q1 2020-Q12023
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Peter Walker
Author: Peter Walker
Peter Walker runs the Insights team at Carta, focused on discovering key data and narratives across the private capital ecosystem. In a former life, he was a marketing executive for a media analytics startup and led the data visualization team at the Covid Tracking Project.
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