Investors backed venture funds with more money so far this year than all of 2021, with a flurry of activity in recent months that offset a cooling period at the start of 2022 with the decline of tech stocks.
Venture funds saw $151 billion in backing in the first nine months of this year, compared to $147 billion in all of 2021, a record, according to quarterly data from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association on Thursday (Oct. 13).
While the $43 billion invested in venture capital deals in the latest quarter is 52% below the same period last year, it’s still higher than any three-month period before COVID took hold with the exception of the fourth quarter of 2018, according to PitchBook data, Financial Times reported.
See also: Startup Venture Debt Rising as Investors Grow Cautious
Earlier-stage companies and those in healthcare, clean tech, energy and transportation are getting the attention of investors, FT reported. Investments made in those four sectors topped all of last year in the first nine months of 2022, per Pitchbook data.
High oil prices and government regulations to reduce carbon emissions have boosted investments in energy and clean tech, Zack Bogue, a partner at DCVC, a specialist climate change fund, told FT.
He added that artificial intelligence and declines in computing costs have broken out more ways for tech startups to explore the “capital-intensive” energy industry.
Read more: Nasdaq Looking More Closely at IPOs After Big Ups and Downs
Late-stage private companies — those more directly affected by falling stock prices — are feeling the biggest decline in VC funding. Funding dropped to $25 billion in the latest quarter, 62% less than last year, FT reported.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More