VC Firms Raised $21 Billion Last Quarter Despite Pandemic Chaos (bloomberg.com) 18
The spreading coronavirus pandemic has slammed tech startups, forcing dozens to shed thousands of jobs. But so far, the venture capitalists that fund them appear to be doing alright, according to a new report -- though some funds are faring better than others. From a report: In the first quarter of this year, 62 venture capital funds raised a total of $21 billion in the U.S., according to data gathered by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. That cash puts them in a strong position as the economy weakens: In 2019, firms raised $51 billion for the full year. As an added buffer, VCs reported a total of $121 billion in committed but unspent capital as of the middle of 2019, the latest numbers available, according to the NVCA. But while the biggest firms have announced large new funds, first-time VCs have found themselves in a more difficult position. Just nine funds launched by managers hanging out their own shingles raised $1.1 billion last quarter, the report said. That's on track to fall short of the 49 or more that set up shop in each of the last three years.
New funds also made up a smaller chunk of total VC funding raised so far this year than in years past. As shelter-in-place mandates continue to dictate business practices, part of the problem at the end of last quarter and at least the start of this one is that first-time fund managers aren't able to travel or meet investors as they seek to raise money. "Name-brand VC firms may be able to streamline the fundraising process," wrote the authors of the report, and limited partner investors might be more inclined to invest in a firm that's already famous, without first meeting the general partners face to face.
New funds also made up a smaller chunk of total VC funding raised so far this year than in years past. As shelter-in-place mandates continue to dictate business practices, part of the problem at the end of last quarter and at least the start of this one is that first-time fund managers aren't able to travel or meet investors as they seek to raise money. "Name-brand VC firms may be able to streamline the fundraising process," wrote the authors of the report, and limited partner investors might be more inclined to invest in a firm that's already famous, without first meeting the general partners face to face.
When will they learn? (Score:1)
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I dunno. There's always a buck to be made, even in a disaster. You just make it in different places.
Best time to buy stocks is at the deepest point of a crisis -- the trick is judging when that is.
This is an opportunity for them. (Score:2)
Wars are at least as destructive - but created endless opportunities for VCs. Remember, even the internet itself was an ARPA.mil project.
This virus is probably a best opportunity in decades for any companies and/or investors in the industries of:
They're not called vulture capitalists for nothing (Score:3)
They's not called "vulture capitalists" for nothing. The more carrion there is, the happier they are.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
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Its just "corrections in the market!"
21 billion... Free money! (Score:2)
Just a tiny part of the many trillions injected by the fed, since last September!
Few things are more phony than the Wall Street intrigue going on right now. Expect more social austerity to pay for it.
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Grover Norquist must be rubbing his hands in glee, the plan is working just as designed, although more slowly than they hoped. As he (one of the 'thought leaders' of the neo-conservative movement that has taken over the Republican Party) openly states they intend to drive the debt up so high that there is no room in the budget for anything but debt repayment and the military. They intend to shrink the US government to the size where "I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the tub." The Russians
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our most dangerous enemies are domestic.
Yeah, the voters who keep reelecting these people
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We'll never know how many of them are actually elected by voters, and how many by the machines. Precincts with deviations from exit polls of up to 20% or reporting more votes than there are voters registered don't even raise an eyebrow any more. The issues have been known and loudly pointed out since the 1990s, and are studiously ignored by both parties and the corporate press. Venezuela bought voting machines from a US company (Sequoia or ESS, can't remember which) and found them so full of back doors a
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The issues have been known and loudly pointed out since the 1990s
Not loudly enough. The demand for fair elections on paper ballots is insufficient
Stop measuring the economy by rich people. (Score:3)
Nothing to invest in (Score:2)
The capital is piling up on the supply side... but there's nothing to invest in. Investments require businesses that can be profitable, and profit requires the ability to sell, because nobody ever got rich by producing, producing makes you poor. Selling makes you rich.
And selling depends on the ability of consumers to buy and pay.
That's the problem our economy is currently facing. No money on the demand side, so nobody to buy what we could offer.
solidarity (Score:1)
Join the Software Workers Union.
When we stop working,
the Internet stops working.