Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
U.S. venture capital investment and exit value both fell sharply in 2022 from extraordinary 2021 highs, but the downturn was not identical across measures: investment dollars declined less than exit value, while deal counts remained relatively high. In PitchBook-NVCA’s historical charts, investment fell from $354.6 billion in 2021 to $238.2 billion in 2022, and exit value fell from $841.5 billion to $148.0 billion. The figures are tied to that report edition’s December 31, 2024 cutoff.
How much did U.S. venture activity fall in 2022?
The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor’s historical charts, as of December 31, 2024, show a 32.8% decline in investment value and an 82.4% decline in exit value from 2021 to 2022. Those percentages are calculated from the figures in the same report vintage, rather than mixing estimates from different editions.
| Measure | 2021 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Investment value | $354.6 billion; 19,373 deals | $238.2 billion; 18,027 deals | Value down 32.8%; deals down 6.9% |
| Exit value | $841.5 billion | $148.0 billion | Down 82.4% |
Source for all cells: PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor historical charts, as of December 31, 2024. Deal counts and dollars describe different aspects of the market: 2022 had fewer deals, but the percentage drop in deal value was much larger.
Why do reports give different 2022 exit figures?
Venture activity totals can differ across report editions. The contemporaneous PitchBook-NVCA Q4 2022 report release in January 2023 put 2022 exit value at $71.4 billion, down 90.5% from $753.2 billion in 2021. A later Venture Monitor historical chart, as of December 31, 2024, showed $148.0 billion for 2022 and $841.5 billion for 2021. The Q1 2026 chart subsequently reported $151.2 billion across 1,484 exits in 2022 and $865.1 billion across 2,068 exits in 2021. These are distinct report vintages; the available pages do not explain the revisions, so the figures should not be combined into a single comparison.
#1 Best Overall
Investment estimates also vary by edition. NVCA’s March 2023 Yearbook release reported $240.93 billion invested across 16,464 deals in 2022; the later PitchBook-NVCA historical chart reported $238.2 billion and 18,027 deals. Since these totals come from different editions and the cited material does not reconcile them, each figure should be attributed to its own report.
Why did exits slow faster than investment?
Liquidity weakened early
The year began with substantial investment: Q1 2022 recorded $70.7 billion. But exits slowed much more quickly. Q1 exit value was $33.6 billion, following three consecutive quarters in 2021 with more than $192 billion each. NVCA described uncertainty as affecting venture liquidity sooner than dealmaking.
Rank #2
Conditions tightened in the second half
NVCA cited high inflation, rising interest rates, an unstable labor market, and strategic challenges abroad in its discussion of the year’s second-half environment. Its Q2 report also noted that deal counts remained strong even as deal values declined across stages, with fewer mega-deals contributing to lower totals. These are factors NVCA identified as context; the annual figures alone do not establish the isolated effect of any one factor.
What the numbers mean—and what they do not
- The comparison starts from a record year. The steep year-over-year percentages describe a retreat from 2021’s exceptional peak, not proof that 2022 investment reached a historically low level.
- Deal value and deal count diverged. The December 2024 chart shows investment value down 32.8%, while deal count declined 6.9%, indicating that fewer dollars were invested without a comparable collapse in the number of deals.
- Exit value is not the same as public listings. The January 2023 Q4 report release counted 76 VC-backed public listings in 2022, including 14 in Q4. Listings are one exit channel; they are not the full count or value of exits.
- These data concern U.S. venture activity. They do not establish that every kind of private-market financing moved in the same way.
How NVCA summed up the year
In its March 22, 2023 Yearbook release, the National Venture Capital Association wrote: “For years, venture capital has changed the world, but 2022 was the year that changed venture capital.” The line captures the scale of the shift, though the data show a pullback from unusually strong 2021 levels rather than a uniform disappearance of venture activity.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsQuick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
