North Carolina's Venture Report 2024: Funding Insights and Entrepreneurial Activity (CED (North Carolina))

Summary

• Venture funding in North Carolina nearly doubled year-over-year to $3.2 billion (+95% vs. 2023).p.3
• The tech sector captured 79% of total venture dollars ($2.5B).p.3
• 60 exits occurred in 2024, all through M&A or buyouts, with no IPOs or SPACs.p.3
• The total number of deals declined slightly (209 vs. 214 in 2023), while the average deal size rose to $18.4M in 2024 from $7.7M in 2023.p.3
• The Triangle region accounted for 67.9% of the state's total deals, up from 64% in 2023.p.4
• Seven deals of $50M+ contributed $2.3 billion of total funding.p.7
• The number of institutional investors declined to 273 from 317 in 2023.p.5

Key insights

1. Epic Games' $1.5 billion raise, CData's $350 million round and Aiwyn's $113 million round fuelled the surge in tech funding.p.4
2. Life sciences funding saw a slight dip of 2% year-over-year despite large deals such as Pathalys and Areteia.p.4
3. Exits rose to 60 in 2024 from 36 in 2023, while IPOs were absent compared with four public listings the previous year.p.6
4. Funding in 2024 is still below peak levels from 2020-2022, with the floor set at $1.5B excluding top-line funding outliers.p.3
5. Alexandria Venture Investments was particularly active with 15 investments completed in the Research Triangle.p.5
6. Raleigh remained the top location for deals with 58 deals, followed by Durham and Chapel Hill.p.4