A word from Atomico A word from the report co-authors After 2022 proved to be one of the most challenging years our ecosystem has ever faced, 2023 was never going to be plain sailing. There’s no getting away from di昀케cult macroeconomic conditions that Europe has faced this year, with Europe set to reach little over half of 2022’s levels at $45 billion by the end of the year - a trend being felt across the globe. What’s more, we’ve seen a slowdown in rounds of over $100M, with only 36 of these so-called ‘megarounds’, down from 163 in 2022 and almost 200 in 2021. This has also meant only 7 new $1B+ companies have been minted in 2023. And while dry powder is at a record high, the fundraising environ- ment for VCs has resulted in a compression of fund cycles. The venture asset class is certainly being put to the test. 7 | A word from...