Despite Uncertainty in the Market, BuiltWorlds Tracked Nearly $19 Billion in Investment Dollars in 2023

For built world investors and startups, 2023 was a tumultuous year marked by looming uncertainty and unease. With the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last March and spiking interest rates throughout the year, 2023 seemed like it was headed where activity would halt and investors would want to push pause and wait.

However, despite the uneasy climate, deals still managed to get done at a fairly high clip.

Between later stages, series A, B, and, C, the industry saw a nearly $8.5 billion inflow of investing dollars across 200 deals last year. Funding rounds and stages aside, BuiltWorlds tracked over 500 total investment deals worth nearly $19 billion in 2023.

Breakdown of Funding Rounds from 2023

Series A Rounds - Number: 115 - Amount: $1,729,000,000 - Average Deal Size = $15,000,000

Series B Rounds - Number: 57 - Amount: $1,777,000,000 - Average Deal Size = $31,000,000

Series C Rounds - Number: 19 - Amount: $2,772,000,000 - Average Deal Size = $145,000,000

Later-Stage Deals - Number: 31 - Amount: $2,236,000,000 - Average Deal Size = $72,000,000

Series C funding rounds and later-stage deals account for the majority of the activity and dollars being raised. Is this a signal that investors are being more cautious and choosing to invest in companies that are more mature rather than taking on higher risk with early stage funding rounds?

At the 2023 Venture East Conference this past November we had a panel that featured representatives from top investment groups identified through BuiltWorlds research as they reflected back on 2023 and laid out what they think lays ahead for the industry in 2024 and answered the question everyone wants to know the answer to: what are you looking for when you invest?