Carta published their 2023 State of Private Markets, and it's fascinating to see the trends by company stage and region...

📉 Valley of the Shadow of Deals...

• Nearly 20% of rounds were down rounds in 2023.

• Venture deal count decreased by 24% year-over-year, with cash raised by startups falling by 50%.

🌱 Seedless in Seattle...

• Year over year, seed deal count is down 27%.

• At seed, the median valuation inched up again in Q4 and is now 40% higher than it was nearly three years ago.

• Startups closed just 462 seed investments in Q4, the smallest total since Q1 2018.

🎢 Mid-Journey Jitters

• Series B deal count was down 25% in Q4, and capital raised fell 33%. At Series C, deal count declined by 33% and cash raised by 52%.

• In Q4 2023, the median pre-money valuation increased by 71% at Series D and by 46% at Series E+ over Q3 medians.

☀️ Capital Migration: From Silicon to Sunshine

• The Bay still reigns, but the trend line continues to show a decrease as Texas’s (6.05%), Florida (4.43%), Ohio, New Jersey, and Nevada saw their share of startup fundraising climb significantly in 2023.

• The geographical distribution of funding saw Massachusetts surpassing New York in total capital raised, with Texas and Florida also seeing significant gains.

🏈 Southern Comfort/Discomfort

• Good: Startups in the South raised 16.2% of all capital in the U.S. over the course of 2023, up from 15.5% the year prior.

• Bad: Despite that annual uptick, the South’s market share has decreased for three straight quarters, dipping to 15% in Q4 2023, its lowest quarterly mark in two years.