Early investment figures for 2023 suggest the number and size of deals in Wisconsin may be lower this year, according to Tech Council Investor Networks Director Joe Kremer.
Speaking yesterday during a luncheon hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council in Madison, Kremer noted the group’s Investor Networks program tracks early-stage financing activity throughout the year. That information is captured in an annual report called the Wisconsin Portfolio.
While this year is still far from over, Kremer noted the information compiled so far isn’t painting a very favorable picture.
After the state saw nearly $870 million raised in 2021 and more than $640 million in 2022, the total dollar figure so far for 2023 is under $200 million. By comparison, year-end totals ranged between about $209 million and $484 million from 2015 to 2020, according to last year’s Wisconsin Portfolio.
Plus, the Tech Council has only identified 40 investments for this year, Kremer said. At the end of last year and the year before, that figure was 107 and 140, respectively.
“What we haven’t seen this year that we saw last year at this time was a mega deal — like Fetch raised $240 million; we had Shine raise $125 million I think as well last year — so a lot of those big deals aren’t here yet, and we’ll see if they happen,” Kremer said yesterday.
And Tech Council President Tom Still yesterday said Wisconsin historically sees more investment deals in the fourth quarter, adding “we expect the numbers to go up.”
See the 2023 Wisconsin Portfolio here, covering last year: https://wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/WI-Portfolio-2023-FINAL-web1.pdf
–By Alex Moe
