Oil and gas companies backed more startup funding rounds in 2022 than the previous year, but the dollar valuation of deals fell by more than two thirds.
Oil and gas corporate venturers backed 182 startup rounds last year, up from 175 in 2021. However, the total estimated dollar value of those deals stood at $9.26bn, a fraction of the estimated $28.28bn bumper deal value of 2021, when a flood of liquidity and accommodative monetary policy elevated valuations, amid buoyant public equity and M&A markets.
We only saw a few exits, reflecting a lack of appetite and overall bearishness in public equity and M&A markets.
