These were the five largest retail funding rounds of 2023

US retail VC deal activity looked a lot different in 2023 than in previous years. The year saw 82 deals which totaled $1.13 billion, per PitchBook data, a significant drop from the 124 deals totaling $2.94 billion last year.

This year’s top five largest funding rounds were not only smaller than recent years, but also represented different retail subcategories. Internet retail has accounted for at least half of all retail VC dollars since 2018, but this year it made up less than 10%, with specialty retail reigning supreme in 2023. And while 2022 and 2021 largely saw grocery and food delivery players take over the top funding spots, those spaces weren’t represented in this year’s top five (though Foxtrot, Boisson, and Buffalo Market did make the top 10).

5. Silver Therapeutics: $35 million in August

New England-based cannabis retailer and cultivator Silver Therapeutics secured a lot of green in August, raising ~$35 million from Tennessee investment firm Big Plan Holdings. It aims to grow its presence in Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, as well as larger New England.

4. FINESSE: $40.19 million in June

Direct-to-consumer fashion company FINESSE, which utilizes AI to predict fashion trends, scored $40.19 million in funding from Cherry Ventures, Mango Capital, and TQ Ventures.

3. Quince: $77 million in July

Quince, a San Francisco-based e-commerce luxury clothing and accessories company using a manufacturer-to-consumer retail model, completed a $77 million Series B funding round, bringing its total funding to date to $141.5 million.

2. Capsule: $100 million in February

Digital pharmacy company Capsule, which became a unicorn in 2021, raised $100 million from Cox Enterprises and SeedFord Partners. The round was reportedly raised at a $500 valuation, a sizable drop from the $1.2 billion valuation it reported in 2021 as the company faces increasing competition, The Information reported.

1. Zwift: $620 million in February

Peloton rival Zwift, an exercise app and platform that allows cyclists to ride in virtual races, tops the list with $620 million in funding secured in February from investors including the Amazon Alexa Fund. Zwift co-founder Eric Min told Bloomberg at the time the company aimed to expand its subscriber base from about 1 million to 10 million and eventually go public.