When the pandemic hit the U.S. earlier this 12 months and tech corporations started shedding 1000’s of workers, analysts warned of a bumpy trip forward for startups and enterprise capital funding.
To say the trade stabilized could be an understatement.
New This fall numbers from the newest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor present that U.S. startups broke one other document in 2020, reeling in $156.2 billion, topping the earlier mark set in 2018 ($142.7 billion) and final 12 months’s complete ($138.1 billion).
“Tragic because the pandemic has been, it has created a world have to re-think and re-set many practices and behaviors,” Joe Horowitz, managing normal associate at Icon Ventures, stated in an announcement. “This has spurred important demand for brand new revolutionary options and a digital acceleration, fueling the tempo of enterprise capital funding.”
Seattle area boasts 10 fast-growing unicorns: Can you name the billion-dollar startups?
There were also records set last year for capital raised by VC funds, and a near-record for VC-backed exit value with a strong IPO market. That should mean continued momentum heading into 2021 as investors have “dry powder” to put to work, said Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of NVCA.
Deal count dropped slightly year-over-year while a record 321 mega-deals ($100 million or more) closed in 2020. Angel and seed-stage financings remained stable year-over-year for both deal value and deal count, despite potential concern with trying to raise early-stage money over video chat.
“If investors continue to use teleconferencing software to source, diligence, and invest in nonlocal companies, a large amount of capital could be unlocked for businesses headquartered outside of traditional investment hubs,” PitchBook noted in its report.
Enterprise capital traders sunk $946 billion throughout 54 offers within the Pacific Northwest in the course of the fourth quarter, in line with GeekWire’s tally, derived from our working record of Pacific Northwest startup investments. That follows $1.1 billion raised within the third quarter, and a robust first half of 2020 for Seattle and the broader Pacific Northwest startup ecosystem.
Funding totals from 2020 as an entire for the area got here in at $four.four billion, up 15% year-over-year.
The Pacific Northwest tech ecosystem continues to blossom, due to each fast-growing startups — together with an rising variety of unicorns — in addition to tech giants comparable to Amazon and Microsoft which have boomed in the course of the pandemic as tens of millions depend on their services.
In the meantime, because the pandemic accelerates adoption of digital technology, the highlight is shining brighter on the sturdy business-to-business know-how ecosystem within the Seattle area amid the continuing financial and well being disaster.
That was mirrored within the high 10 offers throughout This fall, as B2B startups comparable to Zenoti, Flexe, and Stackline made the record.
The biotech and pharma sector reached document ranges nationally for offers and funding final 12 months. That pattern additionally confirmed up within the Pacific Northwest, as corporations comparable to AbSci, Umoja Biopharma, and Inipharm landed huge rounds.
Right here’s a have a look at the highest offers throughout the PNW in This fall:
- Zenoti hits $1B valuation, raises $160M to construct enterprise software program for salons, spas, yoga studios
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Digital main care startup 98point6 raises $118M as pandemic sparks demand for digital well being tech
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Seattle startup Flexe raises $70M as e-commerce rise fuels demand for versatile warehousing platform
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Artificial biology startup AbSci raises $65M to develop ‘Protein Printing’ tech
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Seattle biotech agency Umoja Biopharma raises $53M because it tackles distinctive method to immunotherapy
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E-commerce intelligence platform Stackline raises $50M from Goldman Sachs as on-line retail booms
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Former Zillow execs increase $40M seed spherical for Tomo Networks to reinvent how individuals purchase houses
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Silicon Valley mainstay NEA leads $37.5M funding in Seattle cloud startup Pulumi
- Inipharm raises $35 million
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Seattle startup Skilljar raises $33M as pandemic sparks demand for its buyer training software program
