The Road Ahead
Theme of the Week
As 2023 ended, Deciens predicts that 2024 will continue to be a difficult market for venture capital, although initial signs of improvement are appearing as we are seeing a modest increase in the number of transactions. Notably, there is renewed interest in fintech startups, companies like Kapital and AppDirect announced large recent fundraises and the first three weeks of 2024 included over 14 raises from lending startups.
Market Insights
The big book of venture capital – 2023 (Rohit Yadav)
The State of Venture Capital 2023 (Kearney)
Fintechs: A new paradigm of growth (McKinsey)
38% of VCs disappeared from dealmaking in 2023 (Pitchbook)
First Cut – State of Private Markets: Q4 2023 and FY 2023 (Carta)
Recovery on the horizon? Investor predictions for European VC (Pitchbook)
A survey by PYMNTS and Enigma of 514 brick-and-mortar SMBs shows that ~34% want access to credit but currently lack it. Among SMBs with annual revenues under $10 million, 47% reported having access to financing. Businesses without access to credit often find themselves funding the business from personal savings or personal credit cards. 8.6% of retail SMBs report they’re at risk of closing, with that number at 19% for those with less than $5,000 in accessible cash. (Pipe Newsletter)
VC Insights
Fintech themes we’re watching in 2024 (Primary Venture Partners)
New VC funds at/below $200M in size (Shai Goldman)
The best venture firm you’ve never heard of (The Generalist)
The Series A bust (Who is Nnamdi)
VC Fundraises
BoxGroup closes on $425M for two funds to back early-stage startups (TechCrunch)
Accel raises $650M on the back of Klaviyo, Pismo exits (Pitchbook)
Former Anthemis partner soft-launches new fintech-focused venture firm (TechCrunch)
Editorials
Notable Capital Raises
Mexican fintech Kapital raises financing led by Tribe Capital (Bloomberg)
Bumper’s new funding will support an exciting future for car dealers across Europe (Bumper)
UK car finance fintech Carmoola lands £15.5m in equity funding (Fintech Futures)
Airbnb or hotel? Overmoon’s vacation rental model aims to combine the best of both (TechCrunch)
AppDirect raises $100M to expand its financing program for tech businesses (TechCrunch)