Analisi degli effetti del Covid-19 sul mercato del Venture Capital: studio sugli investimenti VC nel mondo ed in Europa nel 2020

This thesis studies the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 on the Venture Capital market worldwide and in Europe. In order to investigate the possible effects, changes in investment patterns, industry shifts and the impact of social distancing on the VC market are investigated. The research question is answered by gathering and discussing academic and journal literature about the Venture Capital activity during critical times, and by analysing numerical data evidence from Crunchbase, Dealroom, official market papers, and market participants’ evidence. The findings of the research indicate that the number of VC investments worldwide during the first half of the year 2020 has decreased dramatically however, the volume of investments remains high and has increased in 2020 year-on-year. Early stage investments, have been hit the hardest. The number of investments in this stage has indeed decreased during the year, as they are the ones more impacted by the social distancing resulting from the restrictions imposed, as it hit the VC process and its working methods. In conclusion, the VC market in Europe has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, no major crash can be identified as the investment volume remains high throughout the year 2020, despite the decrease in the number of investments in the first half. The study is of some importance as it allows a number of stakeholders (entrepreneurs, investors, VC firms and researchers) to have a better understanding of the dynamics of the VC market in order to take the necessary measures to sustain its growth, thus the economic growth of a country.