TLDR:
- Asia’s venture funding in Q1 2024 hit the lowest level since 2016.
- Late-stage and growth rounds saw a significant decline, while early-stage funding showed progress.
Although the global venture market saw a slight uptick in the first quarter of 2024, Asia continued to struggle with declining startup funding. Data from Crunchbase revealed that total venture funding in the region fell to $17.3 billion in Q1, marking a 4% drop from the previous quarter and an 8% decline year-over-year. This total represented the lowest funding amount in a single quarter since Q4 2016.
Late-stage and growth rounds experienced a downward trend, hitting the lowest dollar total since Q3 2014. On the other hand, early-stage funding saw gains, with the total amount reaching $10.2 billion, up by 51% from the previous quarter. Notably, the three largest rounds in the region were all early-stage deals from China.
Additionally, angel and seed funding remained relatively steady, with a total of $1.6 billion in 900 deals for the quarter. China continued to dominate the venture scene in the region, with startups in the country raising $1.1 billion in Q1. Notably, Chinese startups secured 10 of the quarter’s 11 largest rounds in the region.
The article highlighted how political tensions between China and the U.S. did not seem to be impacting China’s private market significantly, although the country is still below its venture funding highs of 2021. The tensions in Israel, however, appeared to be affecting the region’s venture flow, indicating potential challenges in the future.
The Asia region also benefited from the current AI trend, with more than $3 billion in venture funding going to AI startups, indicating a significant interest in AI technologies across the globe.
