US VC Valuations Report

US startup valuations remained high in 2022, but trend isn’t a friend

Despite it all—a vulnerable market in flux, an IPO freeze and rising geopolitical tensions—valuations for US-based startups remained strong. Yet it does depend on where you look, and the positive trend may soon change. Records were broken in 2022, both good and otherwise.

Our 2022 Annual US VC Valuations report, sponsored by Morgan Stanley at Work and Reitler, has all the figures and charts to make sense of the year.

Key takeaways

• Median seed valuations grew by 16.7% to $10.5 million, the highest annual value ever recorded by PitchBook.
   
• Exits were hit by a freeze in IPOs, driven by unstable market conditions, which leaves a critical off-ramp for startups now closed. Public exit valuations dropped 32%, with median and average valuations falling to their lowest point in five years.
   
• Accordingly, startups in the venture growth stage also suffered a decline in valuations, dropping 17% from last year—although the bottom may not have fallen out yet, as valuations remain high.