Venture capital funding for Massachusetts startups in the first quarter dropped to the lowest level since 2019, according to a new report.
In the first three months of the year, 169 startups raised a total of $3.1 billion, a 16 percent decline from the same period of 2023, data firm PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association reported on Wednesday. It was the lowest amount in a quarter since startups raised $2.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Since peaking at the end of 2021, funding for startups has declined sharply amid higher interest rates and reduced investor enthusiasm about tech companies. The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX two years ago also spooked investors. Funding tumbled 26 percent to $16 billion for all of 2023, compared to 2022.
Among the largest local deals in the first quarter, battery recycler Ascend Elements in Westborough raised $700 million, biotech firm Sionna Therapeutics in Waltham raised $182 million, and cancer-focused biotech FogPharma in Cambridge raised $145 million, PitchBook and the NVCA said.
Local venture capital firms also got off to a slow start, raising only $285 million for their funds in the first quarter. Massachusetts-based VC firms raised $6 billion last year, PitchBook and the NVCA reported.
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.
