Seed funding deals totalled $510 million in 2024, the lowest in four years and down from $958 million in 2023, according to a new report by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association. The number of seed-stage deals fell from 235 in 2023 to 201. Pre-seed funding totalled $99 million, down from $161 million the year earlier and the lowest since 2021, as economic uncertainty and tighter capital markets hampered investment. (The Logic)

Talking point: Canada’s overall venture capital investment totalled $7.86 billion across 592 deals in 2024, up 11 per cent from 2023. Those deals were overly weighted towards later-stage rounds, however, which “raises concerns” about future deal flow, the association said. “If early-stage investment remains low, it could result in a weaker pipeline for later-stage funding by 2026-2027,” according to the report. Company exits also declined to $5.2 billion, down from over $8 billion in 2023 as startups stay private for longer. The IT sector saw the most VC funding in 2024 ($4.5 billion), followed by life sciences ($1.4 billion) and cleantech ($1.1 billion).