2023 sees 80% tumble in secondary deals, Fintech emerges triumphant

Fintech and SaaS were the sectors that saw the highest number of secondary transactions in both 2023 and 2022, according to a study by market intelligence firm PrivateCircle. The study tracked 252 secondary deals across 117 startups valued at $500m or above in the last three years. The research found that there was an 80% drop in the number of secondary deals in 2023 compared to the previous year. Primary funding also dropped by 62% in 2023, with just 1,444 deals compared to over 5,000 in 2022. However, despite the decline in funding rounds, Dr. Murali Loganathan of PrivateCircle noted that venture capital funds are sitting on ample dry powder and expects VC activity to pick up pace later this year.