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Finance Watch: Many Mega-Rounds, Some Smaller VC Deals, But Few In The Middle

$100m-Plus Financings Leave Little For Mid-Sized Rounds

 
• By Mandy Jackson

Private Company Edition: June’s eight $100m-plus venture capital rounds already outpace the seven each raised in March, April and May, including €255m ($274.2m) for ITM and $200m for Upstream, but while there were five $25m or less VC financings during the past week, mid-sized deals were lacking.

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The volume of $100m-plus venture capital mega-rounds continues to build throughout 2023 after a slow start, but a wider look at the biopharmaceutical VC landscape illustrates the valley of death that has emerged as venture capital investors exercise discretion.

There were eight mega-rounds announced between 5 and 12 June, including £96m ($120m) in initial funding for Beacon Therapeutics Holdings Limited on 12 June. That makes nine so far this month after Eikon Therapeutics, Inc. revealed the first $106m tranche of a series C round on 1 June, with seven in May, including a $150m series E round for Carmot Therapeutics Inc. on 25 May. (Also see "Finance Watch: Perlmutter’s Eikon Raises $106m, In-Licenses Pipeline Programs" - Scrip, 2 June, 2023

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