Why a Stampede of Startups Will Try to Raise in the First Quarter

As winter turned to spring last year, venture investors told me startups desperate to raise cash were likely to set off a stampede of fundraising attempts. That never happened. Instead, startups went on extreme diets with the aim of making the cash they raised at the peak of the 2021 bull market last as long as possible.

Another year went by. That stampede still hasn’t arrived. But now investors tell me it’s coming soon, for real this time, and it is likely to hit in the first quarter of next year. And no, I’m not talking about artificial intelligence companies, which are easily raising new rounds at insane markups. I’m talking about all the other companies, from fintech and crypto to logistics and manufacturing startups—the ones many venture capitalists, struck by a bad case of AI fever, have turned a blind eye to.

These are the sorts of companies that will try to raise in the first quarter, investors say. Most of them won't be successful.