The U.S. venture capital market continues to be challenged by issues including instability abroad, stubborn inflation rates and several high-profile bank failures, which have led to less access to capital and fewer startup exits, according to a new report.
Likewise, venture capital funding for Wisconsin startups declined in the first quarter compared with the same period of the past two years. But aside from 2021 and 2022, which had record-high first quarters for VC funding, Wisconsin startups had a better Q1 for venture capital funding in 2023 than in any other year since at least 2014.
Wisconsin companies raised $108 million across 21 venture capital deals in the first quarter, compared with $297 million across 28 deals in the same period of 2022 and $292 million across 29 deals in the first quarter of 2021, according to data from PitchBook Data Inc. and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).
U.S. companies raised $37 billion across an estimated 3,888 deals in the first quarter, down from $82 billion across 5,243 in the first quarter of 2022.
Here were the 10 largest deals Wisconsin companies secured in Q1 2023, according to the latest PitchBook/NVCA report.
1. Bend Health: $31.2 million
Madison
2. Type One Energy: $30.7 million
Middleton
3. Forj: $15 million
Waukesha
4. C-Motive: $10.7 million
Middleton
5. Sift Healthcare: $6.75 million
Milwaukee
6. Zizzl: $3.16 million
Milwaukee
7. OnLume: $2.78 million
Madison
8. IVO Systems: $1.5 million
Madison
9. EVEN: $1.5 million
Milwaukee
10. Pyran: $1.46 million
Madison
