Third-quarter VC deals show a decline, WeWork likely just an outlier

PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor released its examination of venture capital flows for the third quarter of 2019. The report says that American VC shops invested $28.2 billion in 2,265 transactions during the quarter. This figure suggested a continued decline in deal flow among venture capitalists.

The $28.2 billion is down from the $31.8 billion in transactions for the third quarter of 2018. In addition, both capital and transactions were down from the $34.1 billion in 2,810 deals, respectively, for Q2 2019.

PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor 2019 Results

The group doesn’t expect deals to surpass a record $137.5 billion in 2018.  Still, the research team believes that 2019 will still be a very good year for the category. According to the report, VC saw $227.4 billion in total exits during the first three quarters of the year.

“Exit activity is so important for the (venture capital) echo system for returns and making sure capital is going back to investors,” said Maryam Haque, senior vice president of industry advancement at the National Venture Capital Association.

What Does WeWork Mean for VCs Moving Forward?

Naturally, the recent collapse of WeWork’s IPO has generated a lot of questions for the industry. The deal remains “top of mind” to analysts, but the firm could be a simple outlier in the industry. Analysts have suggested that We & Co. (formerly WeWork) only has enough cash until June 2020.

[Related: Is WeWork running out of money?]