Authors: Michael Grantmyre and Ryan Unruch
Valuation and investment intelligence
Valuation for financings, by year
This graph illustrates the breakdown of valuation direction for the financings included in Deal Points Report, reflected as up rounds, down rounds and flat rounds. In 2024, we saw a recovery from 2023, with up rounds representing 73.4% of the financings that closed (as compared to 58% in 2023), and fewer flat rounds (11.9% of financings in 2024; a 54% decline from 2023). From an industry perspective, the highest concentration of down rounds took place in consumer/retail (25% of all down rounds) and information technology (25% of all down rounds) companies, and the highest concentration of down rounds was experienced by companies headquartered in Ontario (50% of all down rounds).
In general, the Canadian companies covered by the Deal Points Report experienced a lower incidence of down rounds as compared to their U.S. counterparts. Comparable reports published by U.S. law firms (Fenwick, Wilson Sonsini, Gunderson Dettmer) and Carta reported that the frequency of down rounds for U.S. companies was closer to 20% of all financing rounds (increasing to 27% for later stage financings).
When broken down by series, the highest concentration of down rounds in 2024 took place in Series C and Series D and beyond, where companies who either raised during the peak of the market in 2021/2022 or raised bridge rounds using convertible securities (on less favourable terms) had to reset valuation expectations.
Total investment amount, by series (in millions of USD)
The graph reflects the total investment amount in U.S. dollars (including for any initial closing and follow-on investment for that same transaction) for all financings included in the Deal Points Report, based on series of financing: a total of US$11.4 billion for the five-year period covered by the Deal Points Report.
Total investment amount, by series (in millions of USD), by year
This chart illustrates the total investment amount in U.S. dollars (including for any initial closing and follow-on investment for that same transaction) broken down by series, for financings completed from 2020 to 2024. Although the total dollars invested in 2024 exceeded the capital invested in 2021 (the peak of the market), the 2024 data includes 30 more deals than were reported in 2021. For comparison purposes, the average round size in 2021 ($24.4 million) exceeded the equivalent average in 2024 ($23.4 million) by $1 million. Data reported by the CVCA outlines that, in the aggregate, in 2024, Canadian companies raised only 51.2% ($7.9 billion) of the amount raised by Canadian companies in 2021 ($15.4 billion); yet 2024 managed to exceed 2023 by 10% in terms of dollars invested in Canadian companies. In 2024, Series D and beyond is the clear outlier category, where a number of late-stage mega deals materially drove up the investments made in later stage companies ($1.813 billion). In total, 13 mega deals ($50 million+ financing round) are included in the 2024 Deal Points Report, representing approximately 65.1% of the total capital invested in 2024.
Average and median investment amount, by series (in millions of USD), by year
As illustrated below, in 2024, the average investment amount exceeded historical averages in the Seed ($3.9 million), Series B ($42.4 million) and Series D and beyond ($201.4 million) rounds, reflecting confidence in early-stage innovation and late-stage scaling, particularly in artificial intelligence, health/life sciences and information technology companies. For Series D and beyond financings, it is worth noting that the presence of a number of outlier financings helped inflate the average investment amount for such series. The series that experienced the sharpest decline in average investment amount was Series C, which experienced a 21.4% decline from 2023.
*Excluding extension financing rounds for Series C companies.
As a point of comparison, Carta reports on the median cash raised by companies at each stage of financing. The Canadian medians are lower than their U.S. counterparts for all rounds other than Series B, as outlined in the chart below. Canadian median and average deal sizes for Series B are higher than their U.S. equivalents because a number of Series B mega deals ($50 million+) closed in 2024, the largest of which was Waabi’s record-breaking $200 million Series B financing round.
Delving deeper into industry specific data, the median amount raised by artificial intelligence companies exceeded the medians for all companies included in the Deal Points Report in 2024 by at least 20% (for each round of financing), with the highest delta in Series B companies, where the median amount raised by an artificial intelligence company exceeded the median for all Series B companies by 350%. Significantly, health/life sciences companies raised 46% less in their Seed financings when compared to the median amount raised for all Seed financings covered by the Deal Points Report for 2024.
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Watch the interviewAverage and median pre-money valuation, by series (in millions of USD)
New for 2024, the chart below shows both the average and median pre-money valuations for those companies covered by the Deal Points Report. In general, other than Series B, the median pre-money valuations were lower than the median pre-money valuations for equivalent rounds reported by equivalent U.S. studies (Seed – $16.0 million; Series A – $43.4 million; Series B – $108.9 million; Series C – $222.3 million; Series D – $416.0 million).
Average and median post-money valuations, by series (in millions of USD)
New for 2024, the chart below shows both the average and median post-money valuations for those companies covered by the Deal Points Report that raised a financing round in 2024. Similar to pre-money valuations, in general, other than for Series B (due to the presence of a number of outsized 2024 Series B mega rounds), the median post-money valuations were lower than the median post-money valuations for equivalent rounds in the U.S. (Seed – $19.9 million; Series A – $58.9 million; Series B – $129.8 million; Series C – $250.3 million; Series D – $451.7 million).
When reviewing the post-money valuation data on an industry level, the median post-money valuations for artificial intelligence companies exceeded the median post-money valuations for all rounds in 2024, and the delta increased for later stage companies, where the median post-money valuation for a Series C and Series D artificial intelligence company exceeded the median post-money valuation for “all companies” at the same series by 233% and 489% respectively.
Average and median dilution, by series
New for 2024, the chart below shows both the average and median dilution incurred by those companies covered by the Deal Points Report that closed a financing round in 2024. The median Canadian data is consistent with the anticipated dilution reported by equivalent U.S studies for Seed and Series A financings, but at later stages, the median dilution taken by Canadian companies was higher in 2024 than their U.S. counterparts (note that the average dilution for later stage Canadian companies was more in line with the U.S median data: Seed – 20%; Series A – 20%; Series B – 15%; Series C– 11%; Series D– 7.9%).
