Dealroom – Venture Wrapped, 2023

In 2023, startups raised a total of $319 billion in investment, marking a return to pre-pandemic investment levels. This year was characterized as a reset for venture capital investment, following a period of intense activity in 2021 and 2022. However, despite the overall decrease in global venture capital investment, early and mid-stage investment in startups surpassed 2020 levels when excluding megarounds of over $100 million. Late-stage funding experienced the most significant funding crunch. The early-stage startup pipeline remained active, with approximately 35,000 Pre/Seed rounds and over 6,000 Series A rounds completed in 2023. Crossover funds, such as Tiger Global, Temasek Coatue, and Softbank, significantly reduced their participation in venture capital deals, contributing to the late-stage funding crunch. On the other hand, corporate capital remained resilient throughout the year. The number of new unicorns in 2023 was the lowest since 2014, with only 87 startups achieving a $1 billion exit or private unicorn valuation. However, these are the startups that managed to defy the odds and succeed.