Crunchbase considered all stages in the statistics until the company went public or was acquired by a strategic investor.
The total funding volume in 2023 at the early stages amounted to $2.71 billion, compared to $13.03 billion in 2022. This is a 79% decrease.
The number of deals decreased by half, from 824 in 2022 to 403 in 2023. Rounds larger than $200 thousand were taken into account.
In 2023, there were no deals with venture investors exceeding $100 million. In 2022, for example, there was a $2 billion round from Epic Games. Additionally, thatgamecompany raised $160 million in a Series D round.
The situation in the US market
The investment volume decreased to $0.93 billion from $6.86 billion in 2022, an 86% drop.
The number of deals fell from 281 in 2022 to 146 in 2023.
Overall market situation
Crunchbase notes that the year was not bad for the entire industry. Take-Two Interactive Software, Electronic Arts, Nintendo, and Sony ended the year with stock values higher than at the beginning of the year. Microsoft completed a deal with Activision Blizzard. It is more accurate to describe the situation not as a market crisis but as a market entry crisis—it is challenging to compete with big players.
There is a slight consolation in all of this. According to Crunchbase, 2023 was so bad that it will not be difficult to surpass it in 2024.