13th Annual Funding, Exits and IPO's 2024 - #FEIbabcsf

Following on from a down year in 2022 where we saw declining levels of venture capital funding coupled with rising interest rates we were concerned that investors might be starting to pull away from venture capital deals in 2023. However, the combination of rising interest rates, complex loan approval processes and the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank has seen many entrepreneurs skip the traditional bank loan option and head straight to venture capital financing opportunities.
 
2023 has been an interesting year underpinned by the explosion of AI (and Ozempic). And we?ve all been thankful for AI and everything it has done for the Bay Area's economy but is AI going to be the saviour of our economy or the destroyer of our job market? Is 2024 going to see AI and the associated need for data security take over the world or will there be other sectors that will attract the attention of the venture capital community?
 
So far this year the IPO market has been poor. Thanks to a couple of high-profile IPOs, Q3 had the strongest VC exit value since Q4 2021. But those public debuts have not made a major difference to VC's big challenge: a lack of cash returns. Despite realizing $35.8 billion in liquidity during Q3, 2023 is on track to be the second-worst year in a decade for exits, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. And, in a bleak year-end outlook, no major listings are expected in Q4. It's also unlikely that IPOs of VC-backed companies will have a meaningful revival in early 2024.
 
As for M&A and buyouts, those exit forms have also been subdued this year. The total value of acquisitions of VC-backed companies is on track to close 2023 at the lowest annual level in a decade.
 
What about the shift of Venture Capital to international markets? VC investments in European startups now make up 18% of the total global VC funding. Southeast Asia is another hotbed for VC investment options that generated $25.7 billion in VC funds in 2021. Due to the increase in international VC opportunities, there was also growth in the number of European and Asian venture capital firms available. This expansion makes it easier for U.S.-based investors to take advantage of these options and expand their investment portfolio. Could these expand further in 2024?
 
Join us for an evening of lively, engaging and fun discussions and hear more about how things might work out for the technology community in 2024 and get a chance to ask questions our panel of Venture Capitalists. We will see how accurate their 2023 forecasts were and will see what their predictions are for 2024.
 

PANELISTS:	More Panelists to be added
	RICHARD WATERS West Coast Editor, The Financial Times Richard Waters is the West Coast Editor for the Financial Times. His beat covers the technology industry. Before moving to the West Coast, Mr Waters was based in the FT's New York office for nine years. His roles there included Wall Street reporter, New York bureau chief, and the FT's first information industries editor, overseeing global coverage of technology, telecommunications and media. He previously worked at the FT in London where he held a number of positions, including editor of international capital markets, securities industry correspondent and accountancy and taxation correspondent. Before working for the FT, Mr. Waters worked as a reporter and editor for several financial magazines. He also worked for two years at Lloyd's Bank International and lived in Chile, also working as a teacher. In 2004, he was awarded Corporate Finance Reporter of the Year for his coverage of Google's IPO. He was shortlisted for the Business & Finance Reporter of the Year award at the British Press Awards in 2003 and won the award in 1992 as part of a team covering the BCCI scandal. In 1988, he was named Accountancy Journalist of the Year. He appears regularly on the BBC, CNBC, MSNBC, CNNfn and NPR. Mr. Waters received his Bachelor's degree from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University
	BILL REICHERT Partner, Pegasus Tech Ventures Bill Reichert is a Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures, managing investments in the US from the Silicon Valley headquarters. He has helped manage Pegasus investments in AI, robotics, quantum computing, neuromorphics, space, and other sectors. He is also the Chief Evangelist for Startup World Cup, a platform that connects and supports startup ecosystems all over the world.    Bill started his investment career as the co-founder and Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, and has served on the boards of many startups.  He also has several years of experience as a serial entrepreneur and operating executive. Prior to Garage, Bill was a co-founder or senior executive in several venture-backed technology companies, including Trademark Software, The Learning Company, and Academic Systems. Earlier in his career, Bill worked at McKinsey & Company, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., and the World Bank. He has authored many articles and delivered many speeches on entrepreneurship, venture capital, innovation, and other topics. ​ Bill holds a B.A. degree from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. He has been a member of the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where he taught Venture Finance. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, and is a former Chairman of the Churchill Club in Silicon Valley. He is a Beachheads Advisor for New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, and is also an Advisor to the Women's Startup Lab, Nordic Innovation House, and the Korea Innovation Center.
	HILARY SHANNON Senior Trade and Investment Office for Venture Capital, British Consulate General San Francisco Hilary Shannon is the Senior Trade and Investment Officer for Venture Capital at the British Consulate General in San Francisco. In this role she manages relationships with US Venture Capital firms on behalf of the British Government to encourage an increase in the deployment of early and growth US capital into the UK. She works to connect VCs with British founders in sectors of strategic significance to the future growth of the UK economy, such as life sciences, clean tech, cyber security, artificial intelligence, space and quantum technology.   Hilary’s background is in management consulting at KPMG Australia where she managed teams in the Operations practice, with a specific focus on food and agriculture sustainable trade and investment advisory. During this time she led engagements for a range of private and public sector clients across the food and AgriTech sector, with a focus on export supply chains, trade policy and digital transformation.   Hilary holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Liberal Studies from the University of Sydney.
	VALERIE BERTELE General Partner, Yellow Rocks Capital Valerie, a global leader and advocate for female empowerment, she is also an angel investor, VC and an international speaker. She is an alumna of Stanford Graduate School of Business, Nankai University and was previously with Google and Boston Scientific. Currently, Valerie serves as the General Parter at Yellow Rocks Capital, https://yellowrocks.vc/ - San Francisco based early stage VC fund and accelerator, with the current focus in AI companies in Future of Work, Fintech and EdTech.   With a career spanning multiple countries (China, Germany, France, USA, Australia, UAE and KSA) and disciplines, she possesses extensive global multidisciplinary experience.    Valerie is also consulting several governments on Innovation, Investing and building a GovTech community. Together with helping late stage companies attract growth funding and build expansion and exit strategy.    As an active member of community Valerie is organizing events in San Francisco and globally for philanthropy, art and culture, and working with several organizations to empower women in technology, STEM and investing to address gender gap.
	JOHN JUANG Co-Founder, Open Future Angels John is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience dedicated to scaling early-stage startups, specializing in growth and sales engineering. In his prior position, he led the corporate sales engineering team at Crowdstrike, a company that successfully secured funding from prominent investors such as Warburg Pincus, Accel, and CapitalG before going public in 2019. With a track record that includes involvement in 14 startups and 4 successful exits, John currently serves as the co-founder of Open Future Angels. This venture represents a collaborative Angel Syndicate based in Silicon Valley, with a strategic focus on fostering innovation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Tech sectors.