Pandemic-era VC dry powder is still piling up

(Pitchbook) Mounting amounts of dry powder held in three- to five-year-old venture capital funds have reached levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new PitchBook research report.

These large untapped capital commitments stem from limited partners piling into funds in venture’s 2020 and 2021 boom. But the market’s prolonged downturn since then has left VCs with too much cash on hand, and too few opportunities to deploy it, says Kyle Stanford, PitchBook’s director of venture capital research.

Of the $677 billion of VC dry powder globally, 53% resides in funds between three and five years old, according to the report.