2024年风险投资资本报告

A YEAR-IN-REVIEW This is Gunderson Dettmer's year-in-review venture capital report, analyzing data collected from the thousands of venture financing transactionsin which we have represented clients. The report examines market trends in deal activity, valuation and transaction size and includes spotlightsections on the unique factors affecting Al and life sciences deal-making. Included throughout are insights from Gunderson partners, who havenegotiated more venture financings than any other law firm every year for the past decade, according to PitchBook. OverviewOVERVIEW Although weak M&A and IPO markets continue to deprive investors of much-needed liquidity, the total amount invested in venture capitalfinancings in 2024 increased significantly compared to 2023. This jump was driven by enthusiasm for technical innovations in artificialintelligence, which lured investors back into the market after almost two years of hesitancy. Investors eased the focus on pre-seed and seedrounds that characterized 2O23 and slowly re-entered the market for early-stage venture financings (Series A and B) and later-stage venture andgrowth financings (Series C, D and E+). However, increases in median valuations and transaction sizes were propped up by Al investments,capital. Methodology The data in this report is collected from private company equity financing transactions, pre-seed SAFE issuances and pre-seed convertible note issuances in which Gunderson Dettmerrepresented either the company or an investor, except that the data presented in Down Rounds (Percentage of Total Deals) and Median Years Since Most Recent Financing includes onlytransactions in which Gunderson represented the company. This report does not include data from any convertible note financings occurring after a company's first equity financing. Data isallocated to the period in which the initial closing for the applicable transaction occurred Pre-Seed and SeedTrendsPRE-SEED AND SEEDTRENDS After two years of avoiding the slowdown that plagued later-stage deals,pre-seed and seed financings were the only stages showing year-over-yeardeclines in deal count for 2024. However, this decline in deal volume maybe less of an intentional shift away from these deals and more of awillingness by investors to consider post-seed investments again. Withthe market uncertainty of late 2022 and 2023, many investors soughtthe (relatively) easier valuation judgments and smaller capitalcommitments of pre-seed and seed deals. This focus softened in 2024according to data comparing yearly venture capital deals by stage. Pre-seed deals represented under 7% of total venture capital deals in 2020and 2021 before jumping to 9% in 2022 and 16% in 2023. Similarly,seed deals jumped from 21% in 2021 to 28% in 2022 and 33% in 2023.This trend reversed in 2024, as the relative share of all post-seed roundsincreased, and pre-seed and seed rounds retreated toward 2022 levels.After two years of avoiding the slowdown that plagued later-stage deals,pre-seed and seed financings were the only stages showing year-over-yeardeclines in deal count for 2024. However, this decline in deal volume maybe less of an intentional shift away from these deals and more of awillingness by investors to consider post-seed investments again. Withthe market uncertainty of late 2022 and 2023, many investors soughtthe (relatively) easier valuation judgments and smaller capitalcommitments of pre-seed and seed deals. This focus softened in 2024according to data comparing yearly venture capital deals by stage. Preseed deals represented under 7% of total venture capital deals in 2020and 2021 before jumping to 9% in 2022 and 16% in 2023. Similarly,seed deals jumped from 21% in 2021 to 28% in 2022 and 33% in 2023.This trend reversed in 2024, as the relative share of all post-seed roundsincreased, and pre-seed and seed rounds retreated toward 2022 levels. Despite the modest decrease in deal counts, valuation caps for pre-seeddeals, valuations for seed financings and transaction sizes for bothcategories grew year-over-year, indicating that the market is notmeaningfully softening for these earliest deals. While median valuationsfor later-stage rounds are still substantially below 2021 highs, pre-seedand seed rounds reached all-time highs. The 2024 median post-moneyvaluation cap of $15.0 million in pre-seed deals and the median pre-money valuation of $20.0 million for seed rounds are, respectively, 20%and 33% above 2021 levels. This combination of fewer deals andincreased valuation and deal size indicates that investors are imposinghigher standards for companies and only the larger, higher quality dealsare being funded.Despite the modest decrease in deal counts, valuation caps for pre-seeddeals, valuations for seed financings and transaction sizes for bothcategories grew year-over-year, indicating that the market is notmeaningfully softening for these earliest deals. While median valuationsfor later-stage rounds are still subs