The stock market faced significant challenges in 2022, with the S&P 500 dropping by nearly 20% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling more than 33%. This market volatility drove valuations down and led to a 65% reduction in both IPO and M&A activity, resulting in a liquidity crunch for private-market investors. Consequently, the venture deal count for private companies declined 29% year over year, and early-stage venture deal activity in Q1 of 2023 witnessed a six-quarter consecutive drop in deal value, despite the common assumption that early-stage companies are insulated from market turbulence. READ MORE