Here’s how startups investments changed in Q1-Q2 2022
Published: 2022-07-11 12:52:49

Investors are warning the funding environment for startups has shifted dramatically since last year. Companies that fund early-stage startups alert their portfolio companies to “prepare for the worst.”

Global venture funding for startups is set to fall by 19% in Q2 2022 from the previous quarter, amid tightening liquidity and a global meltdown in technology stocks.

Sequoia Capital is informing its founders about the crucial period in investments.

> “The worst time is unlike earlier periods when sources of cheap capital are not coming to save the day. Many can’t even invest, as the drawdown in their public portfolios has created an imbalance in their hybrid funds where their private investments represent more than the maximum personal capacity within their funds. What works in any market is consistent growth and disciplined financial management that translates into improving margins.”

Let’s find out how and why startup investments are pulling back to grow your revenue with all-in-one prospecting solutions.

## Our report about venture capital data In Europe and the USA in 2022

We have researched several fundraising agreements in Europe and the USA. To our data, venture investing fell in the second quarter of this year for the first time in two years. Still, we expect that downward trajectory to continue for the foreseeable future.

In contrast, in 2021, funding doubled yearly as venture funds raised more money, and growth equity investors dramatically boosted their commitment to investing in private enterprises.

The previous year, our partner’s company, MyTelescope, closed the last funding round with the largest investors,  [Vendep Capital](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vendepcapital)  and  [Trind Ventures](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/trind-ventures), and raised  [$2.8M](https://www.crunchbase.com/search/funding_rounds/field/organizations/funding_total/graviz-telescope). Read more about the core idea of  [MyTelescope](https://www.techmagic.co/blog/a-global-brand-from-day-one-the-core-idea-benefits-and-features-of-mytelescope/#how-to-sell-to-the-enterprise)  and why it is so appealing to investors.

Further, we analyzed the spending patterns of the most active investors —based on their investment pace within Jan. 1 and Jun 2021-2022—to see how it compares with the same periods in 2022 in Europe and the USA.

### Summarizing fundraising agreements in the USA in 2020-22

The most profitable investment months for the USA market are March and January with almost $80 000 000 contracts. And then the dynamic is dropped to a low by October as a new business season.

According to the report, the highest fundraising period was in Q1 2020-21 nearly 2500 contracts, despite the amount of till 2000 agreements in 2022.

As 2020 was the year of pandemic and huge lockdowns, the investments fell to a low by Q2. There was a correction happening in the startup ecosystem and kept the position above 1500-2000 fundraisings and $40-60 million throughout 2021.

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/69wIyoVuWNkBOlCr52viLlu1A5rBw2Ua6MMhaAETxASmgjHCp_tCJbSKTjdeC0X57Tg2RCtl39AzCRkJ5rUCiNWPvfj0EQelwZHTSe9utC6MT4__CuXWPFvlsGyrktgY7nB77UjlpEGiPtOdd0M)

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/3NJVgj6a32nj4FNzrR8rr5a3fFqOvXPbztJluQ-RL3tDw12k79H92Za5igu53nyki-baascDiG1EyVYA6aGjPzerp48BoCcTvm9oHG_KcYMWc9ltWwhj4iLFAokF0aNN1kprv0yJ82nWkJ_wMw)

To be honest, the numbers in 2022 are not pleasant. In line with private equity and venture capital investments, after a spike in March of approximately $80 m. Investments into startups by venture capital funds drop in horrible condition, Q2 lowers to 1500 deals. The worst month was Q2 recorded total fundraising of USD 20 million across 1000 funds, compared to USD 40 million raised in the year-ago period, which resulted in a pulling down of the overall number due to a slowdown.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/uhIoYiNpKMm2d8Xo18Y9yVdNN7qQsDgAQUllVmb8NVPs4wkT-PRCgEI6Vnk4NCKNdzQ6iXJ2fy2i5_7-IkkpM1f_TAGJFqDuHpeSBjWNDM9ozrEZNog4gjlk_NFbJe5lWHgMc9Xc9uDKYbpQPA)

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/jb7AKS__6-9rIPonqm-d-JFtkB-NLiAsNA50r18l-q17r33_yP67OE9D6nelAqkZNV2q3_9DSqb4aeAb5Jt8Dm3ywl0W4LB0HdFUYaFXatlq8BTRhhaoR9p2rzIIbPK9TRyZUf6TOyxlJYpYTg)

### Summing up of fundraising agreement in Europe for 2020-22

During the 2020 pandemic year and 2022 financial crisis. The highest index in bets on startups led to $35 million, with 900 deals in January 2021 within three years on the market.

To a report released, venture capital funds in 2020 were decreased to a minimum above $10 m.

In the first quarter, fundraising stopped because of pandemics and continued with $30 m in the second quarter. By the end of the year, the financial and investment market had a spot on lockdown and fell to the lowest index.

However, there are good examples of startup funding in Marketing technology companies to present business online. As a result, in the Q3 of 2020,  [European Martech startup](https://www.techmagic.co/blog/most-successful-martech-startups-in-europe/)  investments  [grew by almost 50%](https://www.statista.com/statistics/763260/value-of-investments-in-start-ups-in-europe/), reaching approximately  [€21.2 billion](https://www.statista.com/statistics/763260/value-of-investments-in-start-ups-in-europe/).

Moreover, in 2021 venture capitalists from the UK, Germany, and Spain have been investing in [HR tech startups](https://www.techmagic.co/blog/most-successful-hr-tech-startups-in-europe/#the-landscape-of-the-hr-tech-industry), around $1.5 billion, and other European countries total €55.3 million in investments. Due to Covid-19, health care startups stay one of the best fields for investment. Our client’s company, MindMaze, announced the closing of a $125 million investment round to drive the continued growth of its SaaS-based digital platform in 2021.

Read more: [8 Successful Healthcare Startups in Europe to Keep an Eye On In 2022](https://www.techmagic.co/blog/the-most-successful-healthcare-startups-in-europe/)

The investments rise and fix at $20 million with 1000 deals, combining 2021 with the previous year. A long-awaited splash month after complicated years happened in December and outbid a year ago in $30 million.

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--gMXjoHf81Mqq4u5VKG5V8cIem5xE4r8R7JEPN8-6udHZpax9Pui0XbIuIyh6iWg3cEVzP2dG1Owwj_m6-7JHi1csd2pA6Al9gApZGQM4MDTS8Jh39_qA0Gh4GyxfL5NbzYi0wBcJXDPmn9ZQ)

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/JLTKJFAfvRlqu9nLIaHCRbUgdbC1k_wOAJIXPnGvVrHLJciCVI8rI8Fj_mGr3RtKBSIz9PzzvpQntUIiVUs9NqAJUUk6T9VtmooRr1n5bbM0s4dyN08lQkY7f_-oSDOjxNk6wAU-uNkDy3ixow)

Some companies have already shown dramatic drops in the number of agreements they’ve led in 2022 compared to last year. The amount of venture capital funding decreased by 26% from the previous quarter in the first quarter of 2022. The report indicates that January had the most major budget with $40 million and 1000 deals. However, other months are pity for startups, as they are down by more than 50% for agreements led and $10 m funds. Contrast this with Jan. 1 through May 24, 2021, where each of these investors led more deals than the prior year for the same timeframe.

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/mGE5ADMszGsrv9MUSl4WVGboeX-qAzKCskYkEFLz-VItKRGaULzYyyqN0l8zJKWordRtBtxcXgPsVUWmR__6v-fc5FL7wqFnkAarQe-y4gU4Eo_A-kdHA6uKOD9jttsrAzGUcW27xTAx2zSg9Q)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rrooxE3lshRDMFCDkvFh4_IDixHvp7S1rkIgOIxpWa1fGXMZxiERZtGPU8FjOHrVfbk4LZVQ3VjGgdKj1Jb7a5EVY2Aj23aqM2u4qL6q-qq3YdHLueH046pVlIhkVXTaU8fNT5yV0Lxd5_VbBg)

The most active startup investors in prior years have made more investments than they did the year before. Compared to the same period in 2021, the number of agreements completed by Tiger Global, and Insight Partners between Jan. 1 and Jun 24, 2022, are much higher.

We can’t claim the absence of venture capital when we have cooperated with 12 startups such as Shares, Damedic, and TestGorilla since January 2022.

Keep on reading to know what effects on the investment market.

## Why investment decline in startups happen?

Massive layoffs and dwindling funding have pointed to the start of "startup winter." It follows a two-year period of soaring valuations and fundraising. This crisis results from all bunch of staff: global supply chain disruptions caused by lockdowns, the Russian war against Ukraine, a meltdown in technology stocks, and a spike in inflation and subsequent interest rates.

The investment market plummeted at the start of the epidemic but recovered over the following months. The adoption of digital services by consumers stranded at home caused it to soar later.

Traditional venture firms have a distinct perspective on this time. VCs, as opposed to growth equity firms, believe that now is a good time to invest if they have the money to do so. It may become more accessible for venture capitalists to drive startup reinvesting as crossover investors care for their wounds in the public market, although at reduced values.

[![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ao0uzLrSLwpcG_nS1oK-jo-N8rwqI8JiT1FcRt1-7M8QopYGdk7u_vEqV2KOKAT7L-W4wUVUN04jcNMDl5dzLuXJmwGbBfVTiQc_KZJKuG-zJF5P56RiSyDaTQXWjWY0rpL59dcT3qkz2UUNew)](https://www.techmagic.co/case-studies/mobile-practice)

_Downside risks can temper growth expectations, and investment activity includes rising inflation, oil prices, dollar appreciation, and rising interest rates globally._

Startups that were once seen as darlings have been forced to downsize staff, spend less money, delay initiatives, and overall scale back aspirations due to the worsening economic headwinds and changing investor opinion.

It's all a result of a shift in people's willingness to take financial risks, which has caused the popularity of companies that were formerly warmly welcomed and had bright futures to drop.

Money managers and venture investors avoid companies with high values while urging present holdings to reduce spending and boost their margins.

## Less money on unicorns startups

For the first time since 2020, less than 100 unicorns will be produced in the second quarter. In Q2, only 62 firms are anticipated to become unicorns. The worst-hit regions are predicted to be the US and Asia, where there would likely be a drop in new unicorns of 43%-67%.

According to the research, only 92 firms are anticipated to go public in the quarter, down 34% from the prior quarter and a nine-year quarterly low.

## Invest or not invest in startups now?

The current slowdown may have some advantages. Previous instances of these cycles have happened, and the ecosystem is presently trying to fix itself. Startups are rapidly growing thanks to high valuations, stock market listings, global expansions, fierce competition, and maturing ratios.

Additionally, companies must update their talent presumptions. CEOs can rationalize headcount and refocus their company's culture on performance when necessary. Concentrate on quality and acquire access to people who were not previously recruitable.

It refers to some of the most valuable businesses from the previous generation, such as Airbnb and Uber. That was established in the 2008 financial crisis and would be rewarded by their consumers and the financial markets on time.

## Conclusion

Remember, many venture investors still invest even if the overall market retreats. And many growth equity investors have signaled that they will support earlier or slow down. Venture capitalists are no longer searching for a winning concept. Real unit economics and growth margins are crucial to the business's success.

If you are an investor - invest wisely, and don't forget about the development stage. Today, when the risks have increased, it is essential to find a responsible and expert vendor for investing.

If you are interested in our terms of cooperation - do not hesitate and  [contact our representative.](https://www.techmagic.co/#section-message)