VC funding in Maryland declines by nearly half in first quarter of 2022

After a record-breaking year for fundraising, venture capital investment in Maryland got off to a much slower start to begin 2022.

Companies in the state raised $346.9 million in the first quarter, a nearly 47% drop compared to the $651.9 million raised in the first quarter of 2021, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor report released Thursday. The number of venture capital deals in the state also declined from 61 to 53.

The Baltimore region reflected the statewide decline with $153.76 million in deals in Q1 of 2021 compared to $192.11 million in Q1 of 2022. 

Notably, only one "mega-deal," meaning a deal worth $100 million or more, was recorded in Maryland in the first quarter. There were a total of eight mega-deals throughout the state last year.

Last year marked a groundbreaking year in Maryland for venture capital, with a record $2.27 billion raised, nearly doubling the previous record set in 2020 of $1.24 billion. 

The Pitchbook report said that although Q1 funding was down in 2022, it still exceeded pre-2021 quarterly totals. If not for such a high 2021 fundraising total, Q1 of 2022 would have ranked as the highest Q1 VC funding total in Maryland since 2014, the oldest year Pitchbook presents data for in its report.

"The start of 2022 suggests the onset of an imminent but healthy recalibration period," the report states.

Maryland ranked 19th in capital invested nationally, with California, New York and Massachusetts taking the top three spots. 

The reduction in venture capital fundraising this past year is a national trend with fundraising going down by $6.3 billion between Q1 2021 and Q1 2022. 

Here are the top 10 deals in Greater Baltimore in Q1, according to Pitchbook:

In Maryland as a whole, the top 10 deals in Q1 were: