• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
NewslettersTerm Sheet

The most active VC investors in Q2 2021 are pumping the brakes

Jessica Mathews
By
Jessica Mathews
Jessica Mathews
Senior Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
Jessica Mathews
By
Jessica Mathews
Jessica Mathews
Senior Writer
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 5, 2022, 8:37 AM ET

Okay. Okay. So you’ve seen a lot of “End of Times” letters being blasted off to founders. What’s really going on?

Data speaks louder than my words, so let’s have a look. I asked the PitchBook team to pull venture capital’s 10 most active U.S. investors from the second quarter of 2021, then compare those figures to this year. Here’s what they found, in this little nifty chart I put together:

All of last year’s top investors have pumped the brakes in the second quarter, versus last year. (Please note that this data is as of June 28, so there may be a few straggler deals.)

CB Insights has pegged a 23% global decline in venture funding this quarter, compared to last. To be sure, funding levels have been historic over the last two years—but a drop by nearly one-quarter drop is nothing to sneeze at.

Investors are writing fewer checks—and smaller ones. That being said, there’s still a lot of activity happening, and firms are continuing to launch new funds—and really don’t seem to be having much trouble getting their LPs to buy in.

Will this hold true after LPs digest those second quarter’s performance returns? That raises a question…

Does VC/PE quarterly investment performance matter to LPs? It’s a question I posed on Twitter last Friday and one I plan to keep exploring. If you are an LP, I’d love to hear from you. Please reach out! GPs–what are you hearing?

And now for this month’s timely cartoon, brought to you by Ian Foley:

See you tomorrow,

Jessica Mathews
Twitter: @jessicakmathews
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com
Submit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here.

Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.

VENTURE DEALS

- VulcanForms, a Burlington, Mass.-based digital manufacturing company, raised $355 million in funding. Eclipse Ventures, Stata Venture Partners, Fontinalis Partners, D1 Capital Partners, Standard Investments, Atlas Innovate, Boston Seed Capital, Industry Ventures, and the Simkins Family invested in the round. 

- Zilch, a London and Miami-based buy-now-pay-later platform, raised an additional $50 million in Series C extension funding. Ventura Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Gauss Ventures, DMG Ventures, M&F Fund, and Limited Ventures invested in the round. 

- Oxford Quantum Circuits, a Reading, U.K.-based quantum computing company, raised £38 million ($46.45 million) in Series A funding. Lansdowne Partners and The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners led the round and were joined by investors including British Patient Capital, Oxford Science Enterprises, and Oxford Investment Consultants.

- Modular, a Los Altos, Calif.-based A.I. developer platform, raised $30 million in funding. GV, Greylock, Factory, SV Angel, and other angels invested in the round. 

- Onomondo, a Copehnagen-based cellular network operator, raised $21 million in Series A funding. Verdane led the round and was joined by investors including Maersk Growth, People Ventures, and The Danish Growth Fund.

- Current Foods, a San Francisco-based plant-based seafood company, raised $18 million in seed funding. Electric Feel Ventures, Astanor Ventures, Tenacity, and GreatPoint Ventures and Union Grove managing partner Ray Lane invested in the round. 

- Quantum Source, a Rehovot, Israel-based quantum computing company, raised $15 million in seed funding co-led by Grove Ventures, Pitango First, and Eclipse Ventures.

- Seatti, a Munich-based collaborative workspace management platform, raised €3 million ($3.13 million) in seed funding co-led by Acton Capital and Partech.

- Profasee, a Miami-based pricing platform, raised $2.3 million in seed funding led by defy.vc. 

PRIVATE EQUITY

- A consortium led by HRL Morrison & Co. agreed to acquire FiberLight, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based fiber infrastructure provider, for about $1 billion. 

- Norwest Equity Partners acquired QTI Fibers, a Dothan, Ala. and Colfax, N.C.-based designer and manufacturer of technical fibers and fabrics, from Highlander Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

- Peninsula Research Associates acquired Headlands Research, a San Francisco-based clinical trial site. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

- Thrive MSP acquired Edge Technology Group, a Greenwich, Conn.-based IT services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

OTHER

- WNS acquired Vuram, a Tamil Nadu, India.-based enterprise automation services company, for $165 million. 

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- Drive Capital, a Columbus, Ohio-based venture capital firm, raised $1 billion across two funds: $400 million was raised for their venture fund and $600 million was raised for their expansion stage fund. 

- Endeavor, a New York-based venture capital firm, raised $292 million for a fourth fund.

- Bloomberg Beta, a New York-based Bloomberg backed venture capital firm, raised $150 million across two funds. $75 million was raised for a fourth fund and $75 million was raised for their opportunity fund. 

This is the web version of Term Sheet, a daily newsletter on the biggest deals and dealmakers. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.

About the Author
Jessica Mathews
By Jessica MathewsSenior Writer
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jessica Mathews is a senior writer for Fortune covering transportation, defense tech, and Elon Musk’s companies.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Newsletters

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Newsletters

NewslettersMPW Daily
Bumble revenue took a 10% nosedive last year but its stock just jumped 35%. Here’s why investors think the dating app has a chance at a comeback
By Emma HinchliffeMarch 12, 2026
10 hours ago
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang
AIEye on AI
Forget basketball. Next week’s Nvidia GTC is the real March Madness for AI
By Sharon GoldmanMarch 12, 2026
11 hours ago
In this photo illustration, the SpaceX logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen.
NewslettersCFO Daily
Why CFOs should pay attention to Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO—and its rumored $1.5 trillion market cap
By Sheryl EstradaMarch 12, 2026
15 hours ago
Steven Sinofsky speaks and gestures with his hands
NewslettersTerm Sheet
a16z exec Steven Sinofsky had murky dealings with Jeffrey Epstein in his previous life working for Microsoft
By Lily Mae LazarusMarch 12, 2026
16 hours ago
NewslettersFortune Tech
Uber ups robotaxi bet with steering-wheel free Zoox rides in Las Vegas
By Alexei OreskovicMarch 12, 2026
17 hours ago
NewslettersCEO Daily
A U.K.-based sustainability initiative is drawing U.S. CEOs like BoA’s Brian Moynihan: ‘We’ve got to make this happen the right way’
By Kamal AhmedMarch 12, 2026
17 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
'This cannot be sustainable': The U.S. borrowed $50 billion a week for the past five months, the CBO says
By Eleanor PringleMarch 10, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
'Proceed with caution': Elon Musk offers warning after Amazon reportedly had mandatory meeting to address 'high blast radius' and AI-related incidents
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 11, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Future of Work
'I don't know if we're ready': Governors from each party appalled at 100-year-old federal workforce strategy
By Catherina GioinoMarch 12, 2026
13 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
BlackRock is splashing $100 million on training plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians as its CEO flags a skilled trade worker shortage
By Preston ForeMarch 11, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
How the ultrawealthy use smartphone apps to avoid millions in taxes
By Jose AtilesMarch 11, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Citi CEO Jane Fraser swears by Warren Buffett's golden rule for dealing with conflict at work: 'Never, ever respond to that email in anger'
By Preston ForeMarch 10, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.