The State of U.S. Early-Stage Venture & Startups: 3Q22
3Q22 saw the lowest levels of venture performance ever in our dataset.
Oct 19, 2022 — 2 min read
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- 3Q22 was the worst quarter on record for early-stage venture in terms of deal volume and positive activity
- 63.4% of startups that raised did so at a valuation increase, a 14.1% decline from last quarter and the lowest markup rate on record.
- Activity rate fell by 2.2% to mark the lowest rate since 2Q20.
- Median valuations held steady at early-stage, but average valuations declined across all funding stages.
- The share of deals in the Web3 space declined, while deal volume increased in the fintech sector.
- Funding to female founders rebounded after a sluggish 2Q22.
- Median startup spend, startup payroll spend, and startup revenue growth all declined in 3Q22 after nearly 2 years of sustained growth.
- Read all our findings in our 3Q22 State of U.S. Early-Stage Venture & Startups report.
In 3Q22, venture performance declined sharply to levels not seen since the early days of the pandemic. The 63.4% positive activity rate for startups that raised in 3Q22 is the lowest rate on record, and an incredible 23.6% decline from the positive activity rate just 12 months ago. Deal volume also declined by 4% compared to 3Q21.
Q3 2022 saw the lowest rate of positive venture activity (share of deals marked up) ever observed in our dataset.
— AngelList (@AngelList) October 6, 2022
63.4% of startups that raised did so at a markup, a 24% decline from Oct. 2021. Deal volume declined by 4% compared to this time last year. pic.twitter.com/Yzdwf5WIV3
The magnitude of the decline from 3Q21 -> 3Q22 is the largest such decline ever observed in a 12-month period on AngelList. After suggesting venture performance was “returning to normalcy” last quarter, the latest data suggests venture performance has pulled all the way back to territory we’d consider abnormally poor.
This decline is reflected in average valuation data, which decreased across all funding stages in 3Q22.
Interestingly, median valuations for pre-seed and seed-stage deals remained consistent with the previous quarter. Our data suggests this may be the result of inflation, or the gradual rebranding of “seed” rounds as “pre-seed” rounds.
The 3Q22 State of U.S. Early-Stage Venture & Startups report is made in collaboration with Silicon Valley Bank. Our combined datasets offer detailed insight into how capital flowed into and out of early-stage startups in 3Q22.
Additional key findings from this quarter’s report include:
- Most popular early-stage markets
- Funding to female founders
- Investment volume by instrument
- Investment volume by round
- Total startup spend
- Startup payroll spend
- Median startup revenues
Disclaimer
Submitting your information above will subscribe you to receive future State of Venture reports and other data reports from AngelList Venture. All data referenced in this material is current as of 10/1/22, unless otherwise mentioned. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision and does not constitute an offer of any kind. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. We undertake no obligations to update them in the future. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.
