First Cut — State of Private Markets: Q4 2023 and FY 2023

First Cut — State of Private Markets: Q4 2023 and FY 2023

Author: Peter Walker
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Read time:  1 minute
Published date:  January 4, 2024
Initial data from Q4 2023 suggests the year ended with a slight uptick in valuations across most venture capital stages.

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  produce a full analysis after we get the final numbers.  

However, we publish a “first cut” of data as close to the end of the quarter as possible. This initial analysis focuses on round valuations and cash raised across the venture stages. 

Here’s a preliminary look at Q4 data for U.S. startups:

Valuations saw slight increases: Median pre-money valuations increased across all venture capital stages save for Series C in Q4. The change was most apparent in Series A, which rose from $29 million to $45 million in median pre-money valuation.

Round sizes fell gently: Median round sizes were flat or slightly down for much of venture capital in Q4. The lone bright spot was in Series D, which saw round size increase, albeit on a small number of deals.

Although the final numbers on total rounds and capital raised are not yet available for Q4, it is reasonable to expect another middling quarter across U.S. venture capital as a whole.

We’ll publish our full set of quarterly data in the coming weeks. To receive the full report direct to your inbox, sign up for our Data Minute newsletter.

To see the valuations and round size data below split into primary and bridge round figures, you can download this  addendum now.

Seed & Series A

First Cut Q4 2023 Seed & Series A valuationsFirst Cut Q4 2023 Seed & Series A round sizes

Series B & Series C

First Cut Q4 2023 Series B & C valuationsFirst Cut Q4 2023 Series B & C round sizes

Series D & Series E+

First Cut Q4 2023 Series D & E valuationsFirst Cut Q4 2023 Series D & E round sizes
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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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