The earliest stages of risk investments are the most isolated from macroeconomic conditions. As public market disruption started to lead to a broad slump in venture capital, it seemed that seed investments would be safe for a while. Data shows that this is working out as expected. But checking in mid-year, some markets do better than others.
Canada, for example, is having a great year. In the second quarter, the most capital to date has been invested in Canadian seed stage companies. New data from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association showed that CAD$263 million (USD$202 million) was invested in the second quarter through 104 seed deals, the second-highest number of deals ever.
Canadian seed capital investment volume increased 30% in Q2 from Q1 and was up 8% from its second best quarter on record, Q2 2021, when CAD $243 million was invested. Meanwhile, US seed funding fell 35% from Q1 to Q2 this year, according to data from PitchBook.
Yes, the Canadian market is not very big; in comparison, total US seed volume in the second quarter of 2022 was $3.9 billion. But the Canadian seed market is going up and to the right, which can’t be said about the US
It’s fun to speculate about why the Canadian seed market is growing while that of the United States is in decline.