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Global Tech in 2023

3 January, 2024

Written by: Alex Hamilton

Key Takeaways for Global VC in 2023:

Startups raised $320B in venture capital globally in 2023. See where it all went, by stage, segment and geography. Global tech in 13 charts, with Flow Partners.

  • The great reset of 2023: Venture capital has returned to pre-pandemic levels
  • The early-stage pipeline continues to be filled, the funding crunch has largely been at late stage
  • Crossover funds hit pause, while corporates and Sovereign Wealth Funds picked up the slack
  • Venture capital fell globally, but not evenly. Startup ecosystems in MENA & Sub-Saharan African showed year on year growth, and China is on the move again.
  • Carbon tracking, Gen AI, Hydrogen, Green Buildings, Batteries and Defence were the fastest-growing segments in VC in 2023.

2023 saw the lowest total for global venture capital invested since 2017.

  • Startups raised $315B in investment in 2023, a return to pre-pandemic investment levels.
  • 2023 was the year venture capital investment reset following 18 months of mania in 2021/22.
  • 2023 saw the lowest total for global venture capital invested since 2017.

While VC investment fell globally in 2023, some African and MENA ecosystems bucked the trend.

  • North American VC investment fell by 40% on 2022 levels.
  • All but 4 European countries saw VC investment fall from the past year with the exceptions being: Denmark, Ukraine, Bosnia & Herzegovina and North Macedonia
  • Some exceptions of VC investment growth in the Middle East and Africa though for the most part, Asian VC investment followed the global falling trend.
  • LATAM VC investment fell by 60% compared to 2022, with few outliers seen in the likes of Costa Rica and Guatemala.
  • Explore country by country VC investment trends annually here on the platform.

The dawn of the age of AI: Over $20B invested in 2023

  • 2023 was an epochal moment for advances and deployments in Artificial Intelligence. 
  • In a time when not much in tech was growing, investment into and value of GenAI model makers increased by more than 5x year on year in 2023.
  • Other leading segments in 2023 included: Electric Mobility, EV Battery Tech and Space Tech amongst others.
  • Explore VC investment trends into frontier tech here on the platform.

US, China and UK lead for VC investment in 2023

Europe reaches a record level 19.5% of VC investment in 2023

  • European VC investment as a proportion of the global total reaches an all time high of 19.5% in 2023, up nearly 2x since levels seen in 2018.
  • China also sees the beginning of a comeback year thanks to strong investment into manufacturing tech startups after 2021 and 2022 were the country's lowest share of Global VC since 2013.

Crossfunds hits the breaks

  • The flight of Crossover funds from the venture playing field is the biggest driver of the late-stage funding crunch.
  • Between them Tiger Global, Temasek Coatue and Softbank participated in $148B worth of VC deals in 2021. In 2023 all crossover funds were part of just $34B of VC rounds.
  • Corporate capital has been much more steadfast.
  • View the full data in the above chart here

Related content

Taxonomy: To learn how Dealroom defines its entities, taxonomy, filters and more, click here

2023 Venture Wrapped Report: Review the Venture Wrapped – Global Tech Q4 2023 report here for the full insights.