We’re nearing the end of the second quarter of the year, and it’s been unpleasant to say the least. Inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine have caused a lot of volatility in the stock market, with the S&P 500 dipping into bear market territory last week. While last year was a record for both traditional IPOs and SPACs, 2022 so far has pretty much been the opposite.

A total of 54 SPACs went public in U.S. collectively raising approximately $9.90 billion in gross proceeds (included exercised overallotment/greenshoe options) as of Q1 2022. SPAC IPO activity slowed down significantly compared to Q4 2021 with an average of 18 SPAC IPO issuance per month and an average deal size of $183 million.

The trend of public market investors increasingly backing startups has been going on for a few years now. Entities such as Tiger Global Management and Insight Partners–not traditional venture capitalists–have invested in some of the most high-profile startups in the world. Tiger, for example, is the most prolific investor in unicorn companies, according to Crunchbase data.

A total of 613 SPACs went public in U.S. collectively raising approximately $161.68 billion in gross proceeds for the year of 2021. SPAC IPO issuance significantly picked up toward year-end (Q4) with an average 55 SPAC IPOs raising an average $201.32 billion per month (included exercised overallotment/greenshoe options).