Research / Reports
ARI RESEARCH
2022 ARI HALO Report
OVERVIEW
2022 was a sobering year for Angels and Startups. On a downward slide of the roller coaster after a boom in 2021, 2022 was tough on entrepreneurs; their focus shifted from growth at full tilt to preservation. Yet, the year presented opportunity for cautiously optimistic investors -- and those needing to protect current investments.
Fewer financings were recorded. We analyzed 1,424 transactions, down from 2,016 in 2021, a 29% decrease. Perhaps most remarkable to us about 2022 was the complexion of our dataset.
We found far fewer "Seed" deals in Pitchbook, nearly 42% less (from 1,732 in 2021 to 1,001 in 2022) and far more Series A deals in 2022 by almost the same percentage (43%) collecting 406 in 2022 from 284 in 2021. And the size of the Series A deals in total dollars invested highlighted the significantly lower amount of capital invested at the Seed Stage: from $2B to $4.9B at Series A and from $4.3B in Seed in 2021 to $2.3B in 2022. We knew the pullback in 2022 was palpable, but to see the data in this manner is stark. Still, overall there was growth at these early stage investments with funding moving into more proven Series A companies. (See Highlights and Trends chart on page 5.)
While in our 2021 Report there were a few revenue based financing (RBF) deals, which we noted and captured as being of interest to the mix, we removed these transactions in this year's report to have a cleaner data set of traditional angel investments. RBF grew phenomenally in 2022 (see page 35) and warrants separate analysis. We also excluded transactions primarily capitalized from incubators.
These two deliberate culls may account for some shrinkage in our Seed stage transaction dataset, but there is no denying that, consistent with other industry data, Seed deals slowed significantly in 2022.
As we sought greater understanding of the context leading to fewer Seed deals, we found a remarkable number of incubator and accelerator deals in Pitchbook alone (533), and also found companies far beyond pre-Seed financing with a recorded "transaction" from their participation in an incubator/ accelerator. This is surprising, and perhaps indicates a need for many companies to find shelter from fund raising uncertainty, by joining a funding environment with accelerated learning, and networking. We seek to further characterize these transactions as it may provide insight into the kind of talent that is on the horizon for investors, within particular industry segments and geographies.
Where else did CEOs go for capital in 2022? We uncovered a significant volume of equity-based crowd funded deals, 328, that we excluded from our study. With equity-based crowd funding, the CEOs set their price and the market responds. We have an opportunity to delve into this area by looking at the Round Sizes filed with the SEC (some unlimited!) to see what was actually raised, at what valuations and with what industry sectors, locations, and CEO demographics. We also excluded product based crowd funding transactions.
Most remarkably, we found a list of 50 Revenue Based Financing (RBF) companies that raised over $3.3B during 2021-2022 -- putting 2022 as the record year for this category. The pie chart to the right reflects the actual count of transactions in our study except where we present our considered estimate of relative RBF transactions. (See page 34 for more details.)
To put our Angel Seed/Series A financing into the new 2022 context, we depict in Sum of Transactions the other financing types used at the early stage. Again, our study only includes Seed and Series A transactions.
ABOUT THE ANGEL RESOURCE INSTITUTE
The Angel Resource Institute (ARI) is a charitable organization devoted to increasing the effectiveness and availability of financial and mentor capital to entrepreneurs. The organization provides education, training, and information on best practices related to the earliest stages of angel investing and new venture development. Through its core competencies of research, data collection and analysis, ARI develops educational workshops, white papers, and toolkits for angel investors, entrepreneurs, and the entire startup community. The founders of the Angel Resource Institute include leading angel investors and entrepreneurs in collaboration with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
HANDS-ON EDUCATION
Discover ARI programs
ARI has multiple courses designed for beginners to expert-level investors and entrepreneurs. Each course is ARI instructor led or ARI can train you to deliver courses.
Request a workshop proposal
ARI has delivered more than 400 courses across 38 states and 40 countries for angel groups, economic development organizations, and government initiatives to encourage early-stage investments and deal flow.
DIRECT RESEARCH
Join ARI's data collection initiative
ARI is continuously collecting data from Angel investors, groups, and entrepreneurs on early-stage and startup deals in order to provide better metrics.
View latest Halo Report™
View the latest Halo Report™ and find out what trends will impact your current and future funding rounds.
COLLABORATION
ARI collaboration partners include:
Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the Angel Resource Institute. All proceeds go toward education and research that is critical to the success of our industry.
Sue Preston, Angel Resource Institute, explains a new ARI program designed to educate women entrepreneurs and investors.
Books by ARI Lead Instructors and Others
