SEATTLE, April 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- After elevated venture capital (VC) investment in the past few years, deal activity maintained momentum in the first quarter of 2020 amid the impending economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which will slow activity through the rest of the year, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, the authoritative quarterly report on venture capital activity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem jointly produced by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), with support from Silicon Valley Bank and Carta. While the novel coronavirus has sent shockwaves through many areas of the economy, its full effect on VC deal activity has yet to be seen in the data. The early stage saw strong capital investment in Q1, continuing a decade-long rise that seems primed to subside due to the fallout from COVID-19. Many of the VC market dynamics that have supported large deals sizes (i.e. more mature startups, high capital availability) persist in the market today, but recent macroeconomic realities and widespread market volatility will weigh on dealmaking, suppressing deal valuations and shifting terms in favor of investors for the first time in years.
