VC Funding for Startups Falls 53%, Reflecting Investor Fears

Venture capital funding to startups plummeted by more than half in the first quarter from the year before, a stark indication of the toll that a slowdown in the tech industry has taken on young companies.

US startups raised $37 billion from venture capitalists in the first quarter of this year, the lowest amount in 13 consecutive quarters, according to data from research firm PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. Investors have reduced both the size and number of checks they write. The first quarter marked the lowest number of deals, fewer than 3,000, in more than five years.

“The whole market is ...