In 2023, VCs are looking to invest in promising startups that are well-positioned in growing sectors or to perform well when the public markets reopen.
Seed and early-stage funding took the lead in the total number of deals closed in the first quarter of 2023, with artificial intelligence taking in about 19% of the amount raised globally. AI-sector startups that raised seed rounds in Q1 include large language models company Fixie.ai, code platform CodiumAI and biotech MoleculeMind.
Late-stage and technology growth funding startups led all stages in dollar amounts in Q1 2023, raising $43 billion total. This is in large part due to the billions invested in ChatGPT designer OpenAI ($10 billion from Microsoft in a corporate round), and online payment startup Stripe’s $600 million Series H. Those two deals combined accounted for 22% of all venture capital raised, and 38% of late-stage financings in the first quarter of 2023.
Halfway through the second quarter of 2023, very large venture capital deals seem to have picked up some steam, with eight U.S.-based startups raising $100 million-plus rounds in a single week in mid-May.