Silicon Valley Venture Capital Survey – First Quarter 2023
By: Cynthia Clarfield Hess , Mark A. Leahy , James Li
Our survey analyzed the terms of 177 venture financings closed in the first quarter of 2023 by companies headquartered in Silicon Valley.
Summary
While Fenwick doesn’t track fundraising volume, the drop in investments continues to be the headline for venture capital fundraising trends: according to Crunchbase, North American funding in the first quarter was $46.3 billion—a decline of 46% from the same period last year, though only a 13% decline from Q4 2022.
In our survey, the Q1 2023 data shows a leveling off in the total number of financings from the prior quarter—a 5% uptick, from 169 to 177. The biggest jump quarter to quarter was in Series B financings, from 36 in Q4 2022 to 56 in Q1 2023—a 56% increase. Given quarter over quarter the number of deals was flat and the fundraising volume was down, it is no surprise that average deal value across all series again dropped in Q1 (source: Pitchbook).
The Fenwick Venture Capital Barometer™, measuring the average percentage share price change between rounds, was 84% in Q1 2023, continuing its return to the long-term average of 74%. The most precipitous drops were in Series C and Series E financings, with the average price change for Series C financings falling from 87% in Q4 2022 to 28% in Q1 2023, and Series E financings falling from 12% average price change to a 2% average price change quarter over quarter.