TLDR:
- VC funding environment is streamlined and competitive
- Quality of founding teams is high due to capital efficiency
In a panel at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress, Kibo Ventures’ co-founder, Aquilino Pena, describes the current funding environment as “streamlined” and competitive. Global VC funding decreased from $195 billion in Q3 2021 to $74.9 billion in Q4 2023. Start-ups are fighting for attention and funding, with a focus on one-stop-shop solutions for B2B platforms, cleantech, healthtech, hardware, and diversity in founding teams. Notion Capital is interested in investing in consolidated B2B platforms, while Kibo Ventures is interested in tech that measures adverse weather risk. SISTAFUND and Iris Ventures are part of a growing trend of VCs seeking diverse teams and purpose-driven founders. Healthtech and hardware are also hot topics for investment. On the flip side, interest in AI has cooled and small funding rounds are less attractive to VC firms. The NFT hype has waned, but with blockchain evolving and central bank digital currencies emerging, the dip may not last long.
