Global VC deal counts took a dip in Q2, after several quarters of a plateau as both Europe and Asia investments slowed, Pitchbook said.
Global venture capital deal counts took a dip in Q2, after several quarters of a plateau as both Europe and Asia investments slowed during the quarter, Pitchbook said. Global exits were the lowest since the first quarter of 2018.
Europe and Asia activity slowed during the quarter, pressuring the total figure downward. The value of completed deals has plateaued now for a few quarters, well below the highs of a couple years ago.
Without large investors (crossover investors, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds) actively participating in venture, the outsized deals that pushed deal value to records aren’t able to get done, according to a first look of a Q2 report by Pitchbook.
Exit activity continues at subdued levels, and the $51 billion of global exit value was the second lowest since Q1 2018. Public market opportunities are low, and the more active antitrust scrutiny has kept large acquisitions sidelined as well, Pitchbook said. Global inflation and heightened geo-political tensions amongst key venture markets have also put pressure on exits.
Slow fundraising in Europe and North America is pressuring global fundraising totals lower for the year. Asia fundraising, on both a fund count and fund value basis, is roughly on pace with 2022, though much lower than seen in 2021. A poor exit market globally will continue to offer a poor market for general partners raising funds, as limited partners are receiving low distributions to recycle into the venture strategy.U.S. key takeaways
Pitchbook said U.S. deal activity has been flat over the past few quarters, remaining elevated above pre-2021 levels, despite the swift decline seen from the end of 2021 and early 2022 figures.
Pitchbook estimates show that both early-stage and venture growth saw deal count increases in Q2, though deal value for both continues to be much lower than anticipated.
