TLDR:
– Venture funding in July 2024 reached over $23 billion, with healthcare and AI sectors leading.
– The largest funding in July went to Vancouver-based legal tech company Clio at $900 million.
Healthcare and AI companies dominated the funding landscape in July 2024, collectively raising over $11.8 billion. The largest funding round went to a 16-year-old legal tech company, Clio, based in Vancouver, with a significant $900 million investment led by NEA. Clio manages various processes for mid-sized law firms and has reached $200 million in annual recurring revenue. Additionally, AI-related companies saw a boost in funding, with model developers like Baichuan Intelligence and Cohere raising substantial amounts.
On the exit front, Michigan-based Lineage Logistics had the largest IPO in 2024, with a valuation of $18 billion. Healthcare and biotech companies have been dominating billion-dollar exits, with companies like Nerio Therapeutics and Jnana Therapeutics being acquired by larger pharmaceutical companies. However, AI companies have not seen significant billion-dollar exits as Big Tech firms prefer to license technology and hire teams instead.
While funding for healthcare and AI sectors remains robust, other sectors like hardware and financial services also received significant investments in July. The funding landscape in July reflected a diverse mix of industries, with overall venture funding slightly down month over month but showing a significant increase year over year. AI companies saw a doubling in funding in Q2, making it the highest quarter for AI funding since the launch of ChatGPT.
