One Year of COVID-19: Venture Capital During Times of Extreme Uncertainty

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to investigate how Venture Capitalists' activities may have changed due to COVID-19. This is done using a qualitative approach, where eight semi-structured interviews with industry professionals have been conducted. The findings generated from the interviews are analyzed in line with research conducted on previous crises. We find that although the pandemic has caused significant uncertainties in most markets, the activities of the VCs in this study does not seem to have changed drastically. The findings indicate that VC activity has been high during 2020, with similar deal volumes as previous years. The VCs does furthermore not seem to incorporate new parameters when evaluating investment prospects, however there are indications of factors being weighted differently in the assessment of perceived risk and expected return. Furthermore, the VC industry as a whole seems to have moved to a virtual working setting which has enabled investments to be conducted despite the limited abilities of meeting companies physically.