After a red-hot 2021, global venture investment cools in Q1’22, even as the global unicorn club reaches a new high.
Global venture funding reached $143.9B raised across 8,835 deals in Q1’22, down 19% from the previous quarter’s funding. Despite the slowdown, Q1’22 marked the fourth-largest quarter for funding on record.
The US alone accounted for nearly half of total funding, with some of the biggest deals in the region going to companies like biotech startup Altos Labs, security analytics platform Securonix, and logistics unicorn Flexport, which hit an $8B valuation. US-based companies also drove a significant portion of the Q1’22 funding activity, accounting for 37% of all deals that quarter.
Other Q1’22 venture activity highlights include:
- The global unicorn count hit a new high in Q1’22, reaching 1,070 — up 62% YoY, even as new unicorn births decreased 15% QoQ to 113. New entrants include Miro ($17.5B valuation), RELEX Solutions ($5.7B), and Qonto ($5B).
- Mega-rounds (worth $100M+) reached $73.6B across 350+ deals, accounting for 51% of total global funding.
- M&A exits increased for the 7th straight quarter, hitting a record high of 2,983 in Q1’22. IPOs and SPACs, however, dipped substantially, with both decreasing by more than 40% QoQ — perhaps due to the lackluster performance of IPOs over the past year.
- Asia saw 91 IPOs total, more than any region in Q1’21. Asia-based companies also accounted for 9 out of the top 10 IPOs that quarter.
- $1 out of every $5 of venture investment went to fintech companies, which saw $28.8B raised across 1,399 deals.
- The US raised the most in venture funding ($71.2B), followed by China ($12.7B), and the United Kingdom ($9.2B)
- Tiger Global Management was the top investor in Q1’22, investing in 120 companies. It was followed by Gaingels (96 companies), and Global Founders Capital (77).
Download our Q1’22 State of Venture Report to learn more about all these trends and more.
Want to go even deeper into these trends?
Join the analyst who wrote the report for a chat about what went down in Q1 2022 and what’s next. May 12th at 2pm ET.