PitchBook News - Top VCs turning to Web3 & DeFi

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The Research Pitch

February 26, 2022

Top three: Don't miss our most popular analyst notes from 2022 so far:

Crypto shines as top VCs invest record amounts at early stages

There are thousands of venture tech deals each quarter.

And while late-stage unicorn deals tend to grab the headlines, it can be difficult to draw conclusions about overall trends at the earlier stages, where new technologies are often fomenting.

That's why we created the Emerging Technology Indicator last year—a report that summarizes early-stage investment activity (Series B or sooner) among the world's 15 best-performing venture firms.

Our new data shows the fourth quarter of 2021 reflected the euphoria that ushered in 2022 for venture markets.

At $10.2 billion in ETI investment, Q4 was the largest quarter on record, blowing away the prior peak in Q3 at $6.9 billion.

We recorded a staggering 26 ETI deals at $100 million or more, soaring above the historical quarterly average of four.

Click to see where top VCs placed their early-stage bets.

Blowout deals included a $725 million Series B for crypto gaming platform Forte, and a $555 million Series A for crypto payment company MoonPay.

Indeed, Web3 and DeFi deals dominated the landscape for a second consecutive quarter, with $2.4 billion in funding representing almost 3x the next closest segment—fintech.

In addition to crypto, the ETI report provides more detail on trends across multiple leading areas of investment, including foodtech, enterprise SaaS, and healthtech—each of which continues to attract significant ETI capital.

While we expect these areas of investment to remain in focus for VC firms, Q4 may prove to be a high-water mark as rising market volatility and falling tech valuations characterize the start of 2022.

There's much more data in the free report.

Click to download our Q4 2021 Emerging Technology Indicator.

Feel free to reach out with any questions or feedback, or if you would like to discuss the research.

Best,

Paul Condra
Head of Emerging Tech Research

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Market Updates

Private equity led all private strategies in fundraising last year, bringing in $456 billion worldwide thanks to a bevy of $5 billion+ vehicles.

On the other hand, venture capital was the leader in fund count, claiming 55% of all fund closes.

The end result for all strategies was another massive year—almost $1.2 trillion in fundraising.

From real assets and real estate to secondaries and funds of funds, our analysts break down what you need to know across 38 pages and 92 charts:

read the free report

Emerging Tech Research

INSURTECH—Global insurtech companies raised over $14 billion in venture funding last year, representing a 105% increase over 2020.

Exit value of near $34 billion was off the charts.

But industry startups could face major challenges this year as many have become viewed as overpriced in the private markets—and a slowdown in VC activity may be in the cards.

Our latest insurtech research gives a broad overview of the sector plus tailored analysis within segments like personal property and liability insurance, underwriting, and claims management:

read an executive summary

Webinars & Events

How can emerging fund managers deliver better fundraising pitches?

What are the 6 "Ps" that GPs need to address when communicating with their investors?

We hosted a free webinar this week to help you navigate the fundraising landscape. Don't miss our advice from former LPs! Watch the replay.

Mar. 9: Public insurtech giants have been struggling, but what does that mean for startups? Our senior analyst Robert Le is ready to talk all things insurtech: register here

In the News

Our insights and data featured in the press:

Logistics behemoths and startups alike are planning for another year of snatching up supply-chain technology companies. [WSJ]

VCs love climate startups. They're not going to see quick wins. [Business Insider]

Momentum for bio-engineered foods, such as plant-based proteins, is expected to continue into 2022 as startups create more realistic alternatives to meat products. [Forbes]

If you're a journalist interested in interviewing our analysts or requesting data, contact our PR team.

ICYMI

Highlights from our other recent research:

Market updates

Thematic research

Emerging Technology Research

Coming next week (subject to change)

ETR: AI & Machine Learning (sneak peek)
ETR: Supply Chain Tech
Analysis of Public PE Firm Earnings: Q4 2021
The Growing Prominence of US PE Mega-Deals and Exits

Thanks for reading! Feel free to email us any time with feedback, questions, or tips!

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PitchBook News - Top VCs turning to Web3 & DeFi

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Crypto dominates emerging tech

VC captures majority of fund count in 2021

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