Overview

• Venture capital firms have record amounts of cash to invest, but are not deploying it into new deals. Nearly half of the A and B rounds in 2023 were led by insiders protecting the overheated valuations from 2021.
• Generative AI is spawning new companies and advancing existing ones, but most AI startups can’t even get access to the computing power necessary to scale their applications.
• Four-year college enrollment is down across the board while vocational programs for trades like construction are seeing double-digit increases in enrollment.
• San Francisco is expected to bounce back as a technological and cultural hub in 2024, driven by an increasing movement to get back into the office.
• Venture capital is seeing consolidation with the partners at firms who have generated returns combining to form new entities.