Jonathan Greechan’s Post

Fresh Q2 2024 data on US startup valuations 📈 To the primary round data: 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 (𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 $𝟭𝗠-$𝟮𝗠 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀) • Q1: $9M val cap median • Q2: $10 val cap median • Honestly this bounces around this range, so no major change 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝘀 (𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 $𝟮𝗠+ 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝘀) • Q1: $13M val cap (post-money SAFE) • Q2: $14M val cap • Again, nothing major 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $12.6M in Q1, rose to $14.1M in Q2 • Pretty close to all-time highs for pre-money valuation 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 • Effectively flat from Q1 to Q2, steady at $40M pre-money valuation 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 • 13% rise to a $124M in Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 • A nice, round $200M median in Q2 The overall trend is for these pre-money valuations to continue to tick upwards from recent lows in 2023 - but all of these valuation changes are happening against a backdrop of fewer total rounds. We don't have a full count of fundraising activity from Q2 yet (full report out in ~3 weeks) but my educated guess is that Q2 was only a slightly better quarter in total rounds and cash than Q1. For more data including round sizes and splits by primary/bridge, be sure to check out the First Cut: State of Private Markets report live now at Carta. Download the addendum for even more precise figures. Give me a shout in the comments for a direct link or if an Excel version would be useful! #cartadata #startups #valuations #founders #fundraising  

709 companies on Carta raised a down round in 2023. Contrarian view - seeing nearly 2 down rounds per day is a good thing. I'll unpack that in a moment, but first some more headline data: • Down rounds represented 19.7% of all rounds on Carta this year (excluding the first priced round for any companies).    • That 19.7% is the highest share for down rounds in Carta history - in a typical year it averages about 10% of all rounds.    • Bridge rounds were more likely than new primary rounds to be down. 23% of bridges were down rounds, but only 15% of primaries. This doesn't include convertible financings.    • Essentially every industry with sufficient round volume saw their highest year of down rounds this past year - the macro changes spared nobody.    As you can see in the graphic, Crypto companies were the most likely to have a down round, followed by Consumer and Education startups. So - why is this a good thing? Don't down rounds suck? Yes! They do. But they suck a lot less than going out of business. I think it's imperative that private tech shed the stigma around down rounds. Public companies are devalued every day, valuations fluctuate due to a whole host of factors - it's a little silly to assume private valuations would be up and to the right all the time. Also - a clean down round can preserve the cap table in a way a messy, structure-filled flat round does not. If the alternative to a down round is a nominal increase that comes with high liquidation preference and other terms, it is often more beneficial for the founder (and employees) to take the down round and keep building. I don't want to minimize the impact. It's a tough moment to admit valuation expectations got out of hand. And the founders have to explain the reasoning multiple times - to employees, to current investors, to prospective investors, to themselves. But I'm hopeful many of these startups will be able to grow again into a reasonable valuation that doesn't crush the future with the weight of unrealistic expectations. Kudos to the founders and investors willing to admit 2021 was a sugar high. More data like this every Thursday in our Data Minute newsletter - subscribe at the link in graphic. #cartadata #downround #startups #founders #fundraising  

Rapid release: fresh US startup data from Q1 2024. Primary rounds only! 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 • $13.3M median pre-money valuation • $4.0M median cash raised (bit of a jump from Q4) 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 • $42.7M median pre-money valuation • $10.6M median cash raised 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 • $122.5M median pre-money valuation • $25M median cash raised 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 • $187.5M median pre-money valuation • $28.4M median cash raised We don't have a full count of rounds yet, so can't show total fundraising or total rounds raised. My guess is that fundraising activity rose a little from Q4 but not a major leap. But clear pattern at early stage for robust valuations and fairly robust round sizes as well. Share with a fundraising founder so they can understand today's market + comment below with a specific industry and stage and I'll see if I can whip up sector-specific stats. Be sure to navigate to our blog to read the full report and get primary AND bridge round data. #cartadata #valuations #roundsizes #startups #founders

Founders - fall fundraising is officially here. Use our data on valuations and round sizes to help you negotiate with investors. This is the freshest possible fundraising data, hand-picked just this morning from across the Carta platform. Locally sourced from 38,000 of the finest cap tables in the US. Primary rounds only, raised in the last 60 days. The pre-seed figures are for companies using post-money SAFEs and raising less than $1 million total (to remove the influence of "seed on SAFEs" rounds). To the data! 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $7.5M median valuation cap with $466K raised • Drifted slightly downward over the last 60 days, but still the most active part of the venture market 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $3.1M raised on a $14.4M pre-money valuation • Implied valuation increase of 1.9x from pre-seed • Median valuations are now close to 2021 levels, though number of rounds is far below peak 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 • $10.7M raised on a $39M valuation • 2.7x jump from Seed valuation • Basically flat from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 • $20.5M on $85M valuation • 2.2x jump from Series A • Actually a little decline from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 • $31.5M raised on $255M pre-money val • Not a lot of rounds happening here, still a very constricted market If you want more specific info for your industry or location, shout it out in the comments and I'll try to answer :) Here's to a fall full of fundraising! #cartadata #startups #valuations #Seed #SeriesA #founders   

Founders - fall fundraising is officially here. Use our data on valuations and round sizes to help you negotiate with investors. This is the freshest possible fundraising data, hand-picked just this morning from across the Carta platform. Locally sourced from 38,000 of the finest cap tables in the US. Primary rounds only, raised in the last 60 days. The pre-seed figures are for companies using post-money SAFEs and raising less than $1 million total (to remove the influence of "seed on SAFEs" rounds). To the data! 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $7.5M median valuation cap with $466K raised • Drifted slightly downward over the last 60 days, but still the most active part of the venture market 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $3.1M raised on a $14.4M pre-money valuation • Implied valuation increase of 1.9x from pre-seed • Median valuations are now close to 2021 levels, though number of rounds is far below peak 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 • $10.7M raised on a $39M valuation • 2.7x jump from Seed valuation • Basically flat from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 • $20.5M on $85M valuation • 2.2x jump from Series A • Actually a little decline from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 • $31.5M raised on $255M pre-money val • Not a lot of rounds happening here, still a very constricted market If you want more specific info for your industry or location, shout it out in the comments and I'll try to answer :) Here's to a fall full of fundraising! #cartadata #startups #valuations #Seed #SeriesA #founders   

Founders - fall fundraising is officially here. Use our data on valuations and round sizes to help you negotiate with investors. This is the freshest possible fundraising data, hand-picked just this morning from across the Carta platform. Locally sourced from 38,000 of the finest cap tables in the US. Primary rounds only, raised in the last 60 days. The pre-seed figures are for companies using post-money SAFEs and raising less than $1 million total (to remove the influence of "seed on SAFEs" rounds). To the data! 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $7.5M median valuation cap with $466K raised • Drifted slightly downward over the last 60 days, but still the most active part of the venture market 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $3.1M raised on a $14.4M pre-money valuation • Implied valuation increase of 1.9x from pre-seed • Median valuations are now close to 2021 levels, though number of rounds is far below peak 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 • $10.7M raised on a $39M valuation • 2.7x jump from Seed valuation • Basically flat from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 • $20.5M on $85M valuation • 2.2x jump from Series A • Actually a little decline from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 • $31.5M raised on $255M pre-money val • Not a lot of rounds happening here, still a very constricted market If you want more specific info for your industry or location, shout it out in the comments and I'll try to answer :) Here's to a fall full of fundraising! #cartadata #startups #valuations #Seed #SeriesA #founders   

Founders - fall fundraising is officially here. Use our data on valuations and round sizes to help you negotiate with investors. This is the freshest possible fundraising data, hand-picked just this morning from across the Carta platform. Locally sourced from 38,000 of the finest cap tables in the US. Primary rounds only, raised in the last 60 days. The pre-seed figures are for companies using post-money SAFEs and raising less than $1 million total (to remove the influence of "seed on SAFEs" rounds). To the data! 𝗣𝗿𝗲-𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $7.5M median valuation cap with $466K raised • Drifted slightly downward over the last 60 days, but still the most active part of the venture market 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 • $3.1M raised on a $14.4M pre-money valuation • Implied valuation increase of 1.9x from pre-seed • Median valuations are now close to 2021 levels, though number of rounds is far below peak 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 • $10.7M raised on a $39M valuation • 2.7x jump from Seed valuation • Basically flat from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 • $20.5M on $85M valuation • 2.2x jump from Series A • Actually a little decline from Q2 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 • $31.5M raised on $255M pre-money val • Not a lot of rounds happening here, still a very constricted market If you want more specific info for your industry or location, shout it out in the comments and I'll try to answer :) Here's to a fall full of fundraising! #cartadata #startups #valuations #Seed #SeriesA #founders