SA国际传媒

There was a bit of news that swirled around last week, as it was reported that the firm may start a and that one of its large portfolio companies may go public soon.

However, the nearly quarter-of-a-century-old venture firm 鈥� known for investments in companies such as , and 鈥� actually started to make some more news late last year as it significantly picked up its investment cadence in the final quarter of the year.

While the firm鈥檚 deal count was down 39% last year when compared to 2022, Lightspeed ended the year making 30 deals that totaled $1.9 billion in Q4, per SA国际传媒 . (That was the total dollar amount of all the deals, not what Lightspeed invested. Individual investments in rounds are not typically revealed.)

The number of Q4 2023 deals is the most Lightspeed took part in in one quarter since the second quarter of 2022 鈥� when the venture market was starting to noticeably slow.

Of course, last year鈥檚 numbers still pale in comparison to previous years. In 2021, the firm took part in a whopping 179 deals that totaled an eye-popping $15.1 billion. In 2022, those numbers fell to 138 deals totaling $9.7 billion.

Last year, Lightspeed took part in only 84 deals that totaled $4.3 billion 鈥� although deal volume slowly crept up every quarter until exploding in the fourth.

Big deal

Lightspeed also took part in some big, notable rounds, especially later in the year. Those include Paris-based AI startup 鈥檚 $415 million round led by , and India-based e-commerce startup 鈥檚 $340 million Series E, both in December.

It also co-led cybersecurity startup 鈥檚 $300 million Series D at a valuation of $10 billion earlier in the year.

However, it was another big cybersecurity round last year that put the firm鈥檚 name back in the spotlight last week. Lightspeed led 鈥嬧�婽el Aviv-based 鈥� $238 million round at a valuation of more than $3 billion in September.

It was reported last week that Cato Networks 鈥� along with fellow Israeli cyber startup 鈥� is and plans to hire bankers by March for an IPO later this year.

In an odd twist, it was simultaneously Lightspeed has talked to investors about selling a portfolio of holdings it values at roughly $1 billion and rolling those assets into a continuation fund to return some cash back to investors 鈥� which has become difficult with the dearth of M&A and the frozen IPO pipeline.

Nevertheless, even as the firm apparently searches for both traditional and nontraditional ways to return cash to investors, it seems to be keeping its eyes on investment opportunities.

It鈥檒l be intriguing to see if Lightspeed quickens the pace this calendar year.

Related SA国际传媒 Pro query:

Related reading:

• Khosla Ventures Nears $3B For Funds Even As Venture Slows
• Most Active US Investors: Gaingels And Khosla Ventures Pick Up The Pace
• Andreessen Horowitz May Be Optimistic About Tech, But It鈥檚 Still Slowing Its Deal Pace

Illustration: