What is a startup worth?
Obviously, this is a context-dependent question (although in 2023 you could simply have responded "a lot less" and been right).
But as we round out the year, I think it's useful to look back over the past 3 years and marvel at the speed of the decline across startup valuations in particular.
In 2021, the median valuation for a new Series D company was over $800M. Flip a coin, mint a unicorn. So far this year, the median company at that same stage was valued at $222M.
Will the different dynamics along the fundraising journey ever again align? Series A valuations are off 8% from 2021. Series D valuations are off 73%.
Maybe time heals all wounds—and the companies raising at early stages today will grow much larger than current late-stage valuations suggest.
But given the current split, I believe 2024 is more likely to be another year of consolidation than a return to full startup health.
Whatever the year holds, I and our Data Minute team will be here to chronicle, investigate, and visualize it for you.
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Peter Walker
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