SD Venture Capital Deals Reach $1.2B in Q1

Learn which local startups received venture capital investments in Q1 2023.

---

Learn from San Diego's greatest entrepreneurs and companies. Every week, I write a newsletter breaking down the business and money in San Diego. Join hundreds of entrepreneurs and investors by subscribing below.

---

---

Founders,

Nationally, venture capital activity totaled $37 billion in Q1 this year.

Funding to San Diego-based startups dropped more than 50% during the first quarter.

Today’s breakdown explores the top companies that raised VC funding in Q1.

Please enjoy.

---

High-Level Overview

• $1.2B+ invested combining both tech and life science deals in San Diego.

• Top VC deals: Genentech ($450M), SOCi ($120M), Rapport Therapeutics ($100M)

• Top M&A deals: Prometheus Biosciences ($11B), NuVasive ($3.4B)

---

SOCi headquarters in San Diego.

---

Top five largest tech deals

• SOCi: a late-stage marketing startup raised $120 million.

• Fabric8Labs: an early-stage 3D printing company raised $50 million.

• EcoATM: a legacy smartphone recycler raised $50 million.

• BetterNight: a provider of sleep-tech solutions raised $27 million.

• MedCrypt: a cybersecurity provider for the medical space raised $27 million.

---

Earlier this year, Genentech has begun a $450 million expansion of its biotech campus in Oceanside to hire “world-class biotech talent” in the San Diego area.

---

Top five largest biotech deals

• Genentech: a legacy biotech firm raised $450 million.

• Rapport Therapeutics: a clinical-stage biotech raised $100 million.

• Lenz Therapeutics: an early-stage biotech raised $83 million.

• Belharra Therapeutics: an early-stage drug discovery platform raised $50 million.

• ADARx Pharmaceuticals: an early-stage genetic medicine raised $46 million.

---

Prometheus Biosciences is among the highest acquisitions in San Diego biotech history. For context, Illumina attempted to acquire biotech GRAIL for $7.1 billion in 2021.

---

M&A Activity

• Prometheus Biosciences acquired by Merck for $10.8 billion.

• NuVasive purchased by Globus Medical for $3.4 billion.

• Screwball Whiskey sells majority stake to Pernod Ricard.

---

VC activity dropped in all stages and sectors in the first quarter of 2023.

---

Slowdown in Investments

Overall fundings for the first quarter are roughly 20 percent lower than the year prior.

• Investment interest from private equity firms and hedge funds have cooled

• Expect a “good number” of startups to shutdown if access to capital dries up

• Investors have significantly reduced investment size and number of deals made

---

In case you missed it

• San Diego's Most Active VC Firms

• Pura Vida Bracelets: San Diego's $100M+ Jewelry Company

• San Diego-based Startup Raises Millions To Compete with OpenAI

• Fashionphile: The $500M Luxury Business

---

*This list was compiled leveraging Connect San Diego’s Venture Capital Funding Tracker.