North America has claimed the largest share of early-stage venture deals in 2023, replacing Asia for the first time in nearly a decade.
North America has recorded 3,949 early-stage deals this year, accounting for 34.4% of global deal activity—both numbers up from 32.6% and 5,959 deals in 2022. In Asia, there have been 3,828 early-stage deals, representing 33.3% of the total.
Since 2014, Asia has accounted for the largest share of global early-stage deal activity, owing in part to the rapid growth of its VC ecosystem, particularly in China. Its share of activity peaked in 2016 when the region represented 42% of all early-stage deals.
Asia has seen its share fall partly due to the fact that the region has seen a greater decline in overall deal flow. Further, the US saw an uptick in early-stage deals in the first two quarters of this year, according to the Q3 2023 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor, helping to mitigate the overall drop in deals.
Early-stage deal count for all regions is down significantly from last year. The third quarter saw 3,105 early-stage deals close, a 26.5% fall from the same period last year. However, early-stage still accounts for the largest portion of global deal count, representing 36.3% of all rounds.
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