2021: the record breaks

Scale of the change

The report described a market in which venture dollars expanded across stages and unicorn creation accelerated. The 92% annual rise was substantial even after its 2020 baseline had been revised upward from the original report.

The baseline problem

The January 2021 report had counted $300 billion for 2020. Crunchbase's January 2022 report used $335 billion. These are different snapshots of the same provider's database, so they should travel with their report dates rather than be silently combined.

What persisted

The boom created a large population of companies financed at unusual valuations. Their next rounds depended on an exit and financing environment that could not be assumed to persist. The 2021 number measures capital deployed in that year; it does not measure durable returns.

The report's record should be understood as a flow of new investment, not a mark-to-market gain for every startup. The difference becomes important when later financing requires a new investor to validate the price.