Less jostling and more deliberation by VCs as startup fever cools

FOUNDERS were flooded with term sheets from venture capital (VC) investors just a year ago. But now, those same investors are scrutinising financials and gripping their purse strings tightly.

The party has ended with the onset of tough macroeconomic conditions, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflationary pressures and recession risks. This has tipped the scales away from founders and in favour of investors, industry players tell The Business Times.

In the last 12 to 18 months, funding cheque sizes and valuations had skyrocketed and VCs had to compete to get into deals. But they are now getting access at much better prices, said Tushar Roy, partner at global tech investor Square Peg.