Investment difficulties, which in practice resulted in a significant reduction in funding startupsworldwide, dominates the young ecosystem. financing from venture capital funds decreased by 53% in the first quarter of 2023 and reached the level of $76 billion, which is a significant difference from the $162 billion that startups “raised” internationally in the first three months of 2022. In fact, the weak – by industry standards – first quarter results of this year would have been even weaker without the mega-deal to acquire OpenAI by Microsoft for $10 billion and without the $6.5 billion funding round raised by the fintech company. Band. Without these two deals, the ecosystem would have raised less than $60 billion of capital in the first three months of 2023. “The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 was an additional shock to an already weakened funding environment.

The impact was not limited to startups in the United States, as SVB was the bank of choice for startups from around the world,” according to a related Crunchbase analysis cited by SEPE. Indicative of the investment malaise that prevailed in the first quarter of 2023 is the fact that startup funding has been slashed regardless of stage, according to data from Crunchbase. In practice, startups at each stage faced funding cuts ranging from 44% to 54% on average.

In the first quarter of 2023, early-stage funding was $25.6 billion, down 54% year-over-year. Meanwhile, funds raised by late-stage startups reached $43 billion, sharply down from $93 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Sectors that saw declines in the first quarter of the year include e-commerce, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies. However, AI has remained a bright spot for the startup ecosystem, receiving major funding in the first three months of 2023.