The decline of late-stage venture in a single chart.
Used to be that raising a venture round of $100 million or more was a rarity. Perhaps it didn't need it's own mythological creature name, but it was certainly a major milestone.
Then 2021 happened and it seemed like everyone was getting $100M! Nearly 150 companies raised a round of that size in Q4 of 2021 alone, according to Carta data.
Then the tables turned, the music stopped, and late-stage scaleups were left without access to this kind of cash. Only 12 companies raised a similarly massive round in Q4 of last year.
One of the major tensions within venture right now is the gap between dry powder and capital invested. In order to get those many billions into companies and off of VC/LP ledgers, we'll need to see some major rounds raised in 2023 (tough to put that much capital to work in the seed-stage).
When do these rarities begin popping up more often?
#cartadata #latestage #venture #startups
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