Even big startup exits come with markdowns

Plus, 5 key areas for ‘hard-task’ AI to conquer December 7, 2023 Hi, {NAME}. Generally speaking, when a startup gets acquired by a big company or goes public at a valuation over a billion dollars, prior backers at all stages come out ahead. This year, however, that often hasn’t been the case. Because private company valuations hit such frothy heights a couple years ago, even good-sized exits are commonly well below peak. We take a look at [what’s happened with some of the most high-profile startup exits of recent years]( — from the merely moderate markdowns to the truly big valuation drops. Plus, what are the big areas [where “hard-task” AI can make a dent?]( ⬇️ [In 2023, even big startup exits come with markdowns]( Whether through IPOs, SPACs or M&A deals, many of the biggest startup exits in recent years — including [Instacart]( [Loom]( and [Better.com]( — in fact came at moderate to big discounts from their previous peaks, a [Crunchbase News]( analysis shows. But there were a few big wins, too. Related Crunchbase Pro lists: • [Largest 2023 Acquisitions Of US Private, Venture-Backed Companies]( • [US Venture-Backed IPOs, 2023]( 🤖 [5 key areas for ‘hard-task’ AI to conquer]( While billions of venture dollars have gone to artificial intelligence startups working on things like marketing automation, fighting parking tickets, or taking doctors’ notes, the real challenge — and true potential — for AI lies in the “hard-task” applications, argues guest author [Bob Rosin]( of venture firm [Defy.vc](. He offers five industries he expects to be impacted as AI starts to take on tasks beyond the capabilities of humans — and do them better. 🚀 [Vast Data’s valuation more than doubles to $9.1B]( AI data platform startup [Vast Data]( raised a $118 million Series E led by [Fidelity Management and Research Co.]( in a round that more than doubles its previous valuation. 🐝 [The busiest U.S. startup investors last month]( Don’t get too excited. Even the busiest U.S. startup investor in November only announced eight completed funding deals. Still, we look at which investors were the busiest pulling out their checkbooks last month, and which companies they backed. 📊 [Early-stage funding takes another hit]( Global venture funding reached $19.2 billion last month, [Crunchbase]( data shows, down marginally month over month. It wasn’t AI that led the way either, although startups in that sector did raise $2.4 billion. Our [November monthly report]( has all the details. 💰 [These startups raised big in November]( No, last month’s largest funding raise by a U.S. startup — a $1.3 billion deal — wasn’t by a hot new AI startup, but rather the beleaguered e-cigarette maker [Juul](. Things got more interesting from there, though, with space tech, 3D printing and industrial manufacturing among the other large funding deals in November. See also: [The Crunchbase Megadeals Board]( [Crunchbase ROI Calculator]( [See the number of new accounts Crunchbase can add to your funnel with our advanced prospecting ROI calculator powered by Crunchbase data.]( [Calculate]( Recent Investments [SpringWorks Therapeutics]( [$275M]( / [Post-IPO Equity]( SpringWorks Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that develops medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer. Categories: Biopharma • Biotechnology • Therapeutics Founders: [Lara S. Sullivan]( [Yoni Falkson]( [Integral Ad Science]( [$154M]( / [Post-IPO Secondary]( IAS is a global technology company that specializes in digital ad verification and optimization solutions. Categories: Advertising • Analytics • Big Data • Digital Media Founders: [Alan Murray]( [Foster Provost]( [Helene Monat]( [Joshua Abram]( [Kent Wakeford]( [Will Luttrell]( [VAST Data]( [$118M]( / [Series E]( VAST Data offers a unified data platform that integrates storage, database, and compute capabilities into a single software platform. Categories: Artificial Intelligence (AI) • Database • Software Founders: [Jeff Denworth]( [Renen Hallak]( [Shachar Fienblit]( Investors: [Fidelity Management and Research Company]( (Lead), [Bond Capital]( [Drive Capital]( [+ 1 more]( More Fundings Company Amount / Round Lead Investor [Replicate]( $40M / [Series B]( [Andreessen Horowitz]( [Mamaearth]( 2.3B INR / [Post-IPO Secondary]( [Norges Bank]( [Greenbrook]( $2.5M / [Post-IPO Debt]( [Madryn Asset Management]( [All Recent Funding Activity]( Recent Acquisitions [ESG]( Pending acquisition by [Hensoldt]( for 675M EUR More Acquisitions Company Acquired By Amount [Blancco Oy]( [Francisco Partners]( 175M GBP [All Recent Acquisition Activity]( #{Rails.configuration.daily.cb_url} Discover innovative companies and the people behind them. [Follow Us on Crunchbase]( [View Jobs on LinkedIn]( [Follow Us on Twitter]( [Like Us on Facebook]( 564 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94104 © 2023 Crunchbase Inc. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( [Unsubscribe]( from Crunchbase Daily.