Link to original article: Q2 2023: US VC Valuations Report
US VC valuations start to stabilize in Q2
In Q2, US VC valuations were considerably below the peaks of 2021 and early 2022. But there are signs that prices may be stabilizing. The median valuations for all stages, except for seed, registered an uptick from the previous quarter.
Although prices are no longer in a free-fall, the VC valuation glass may still be less than half full amid the near-frozen IPO market, reduced risk appetite from VCs, and a continued pullback from nontraditional investors. Other key takeaways from the Q2 2023 US VC Valuations Report, sponsored by Morgan Stanley at Work, include:
- Seed-stage deal sizes have started to stagnate, indicating that the capital that VCs are willing to give to the youngest companies may have reached a ceiling.
- The median valuation step-ups for early-stage companies have hit a near-decade low, a challenge for seed-stage investors looking for markups.
- Insiders have led 9.4% of late-stage rounds year-to-date, the highest proportion in nearly a decade.
Table of contents
| Key takeaways | 4 |
| Angel and seed valuations | 5 |
| Early-stage VC valuations | 7 |
| Late-stage VC valuations | 9 |
| Venture-growth valuations | 11 |
| A word from Morgan Stanley at Work | 13 |
| Fintech | 15 |
| Carbon & emissions tech | 17 |
| Nontraditional investors | 19 |
| Liquidity | 21 |
| Deal terms | 23 |