This past October we shared that Q3 2020 NYC seed activity was the highest it had been since the record-breaking Q3 2019 quarter. While Q3 2019 remains the record holder, the positive momentum continued through Q4 2020: NYC deals were up 27% and total funding increased 34% YoY.
While deal count increased only 1.5%, total dollars raised increased 22% from Q3 2020, resulting in a 20% increase in average round size (a record-breaking $2.9MM).
Industries to Watch
Making healthcare more inclusive
With the growing number of freelancers and small businesses struggling with receiving the care they needed in 2020, Mira raised $2.7M to bring access to an affordable health plan. For the LGBTQ community, Included Health raised $2.3M to help raise care equality and create a better healthcare experience.
Bitcoin strikes back
BTC came in hot during Q4 with a rise to a new all-time high. Blockchain and crypto technology is still in the early stages of being regulated, and companies like Notabene, Figment, and Boardroom are looking to tackle digital governance.
SaaS remains hot
To wrap up the year, multiple SaaS companies across verticals raised large $4M+ seed rounds including Vowel, a meeting transcription solution, Circle, a platform to help creators bring together their community, and Reposite, an all-in-one platform to power travel trade.
New Year, New Me
Exercising more or losing weight are the most popular New Year’s resolutions that get broken almost every year. Caliber is looking to fix that with 1:1 strength and nutrition coaching, and Wellory is connecting you with a nutrition coach to change your relationship with food.
Bet on it
If you have a view on a specific topic or think you can beat your friend in a game, why not bet on it? Polymarket raised $4.0M to let anyone bet on their beliefs and 1v1Me raised a $750K pre-seed round to let people skill bet on various games.
Zoom fatigue
We’re now almost a year into COVID-19 and everyone is tired from traditional conferencing. Here.fm and Branch are both working on helping you and your team or friends spice up your virtual meeting rooms with digital avatars and open experiences.
Primary NYC Seed Deal Report: Q4 2020
