Realisations and distributions unlock As highlighted by survey respondents, distributions are top of mind for both VCs and LPs. The key metric to assess this is DPI, a measure of distribution to paid-in capital, i.e., the multiple of capital returned to investors relative to their initial commitment size. On average, VC funds take up to a decade to return the initial investment to LPs (i.e. hit a DPI of greater than one), while further distributions continue to follow in subsequent years. A comparison of European vs. US funds highlights an interesting divergence in the time to DPI, but over time shows that European funds closely align to, and in some cases exceed, US benchmarks. The divergence in time to initial DPI across the regions is likely a function of the maturity of the exit landscapes. DPI by fund vintage year for European and US VC funds European Developed venture capital US venture capital 4 3 e l p i t l u m 2 s n r u t e R 1 0 6 7 8 9 0 11 2 13 4 15 16 17 8 9 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Fund vintage Sources: Notes: Data as of Q2 2023. | 208