America vs. The World: Who Raises More On Freedom Day?

It’s Independence Day, a holiday. But if you are an entrepreneur, you’re likely spending it trying and failing to reach inbox zero.

And then there are the folks who raised money today. Yes, some startups have their funding dates recorded as the Fourth of July. Fundraising takes a long time, and can be “closed” on a number days, but for some companies, that day is today.

On this day of freedom, let’s find out which startups raised money.

Let Freedom Raise Money

Using Crunchbase data, we analyzed global funding deals announced on July 4 from 2013 to 2016. Rounds announced as Post-IPO equity were excluded from our dataset.

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On July 4, 2013, 19 startups raised over $26 million in funding, with over 73% of the cohort receiving seed or angel-stage investment. While only a slight majority of the companies funded were based out of the United States, the divide in funding between global and US-based startups was significant.

On the Fourth, the United States didn’t lead the world.

Nine US-based startups represented just a little over $2.4 million in known raises, with Phynd Technologies pulling in $2 million as part of its seed round. Of the ten global deals made, a little over $24 million was raised. The largest global investment deal made was Ocapo’s Series A nearly $11 million.

2014

Investments made on the following fourth of July picked up modestly in terms of number of rounds. According to Crunchbase data, 31 deals were made, 14 of which were for companies based in the United States.

But where Independence Day in 2014 really shines is in the amount of funds raised, with startups pocketing over $169 million. And while US-based startups had a better showing in terms of round and deal size—raising nearly $17 million in 2014 across 14 deals—the grand majority of funds went, once again, to the global cohort.

Of the US-based cohort, Pushpay, a POS system, raised $9 million. The company went on to go public in 2014; it now flits around $2 a share. Meanwhile, global startups were scoring big on Independence Day. Gumi, a Singapore-based games development company, raised $49 million as part of its Series H. The company is now public. Following closely behind Gumi is Mumbai-based Hungama Digital Entertainment, a bollywood and south-asian publishing company, with its $40 million dollar raise. The company went on to raise $100 million in March 2015 and an additional $35 million in April 2016.

2015

While July 4, 2014 was a boon in terms of investment in startups, the pace and amounts invested cratered on the same day in 2015.

Only ten startups raised money, totaling a paltry $12.5 million, with nearly 40 percent of those investments going to seed and angel-stage companies. US-based startups made up exactly half of those deals, yet raised an outsized amount of funding to the tune of $10.3 million. But the love for US-based startups was not shared evenly. Drivin, a used-car sales platform, carried US-based startups with its $10 million Series A. The other four US startups that raised money on July 4, 2015 didn’t even crack $1 million.

Of the nearly $2.2 million that global startups raised, $1 million went to Foodout Group as part of its seed investment. The online food ordering software has since merged with EDA.UA.

2016

What 2015 lacked, 2016 redeemed.

Total rounds and funds raised experienced a sharp tick upwards. 57 rounds were announced, totaling a little over $710 million. Yet US-based startups barely outperformed total funds raised and rounds announced, with only $3.9 million raised across ten companies. The bulk of of that US-based funding went to Massachusetts-based Sipsynergy for $3.65 million.

One deal also made an outsized impact on global funds raised as well. Of the $706 million raised by global firms, $500 million went to Berenberg in a private equity round. Africa Internet Group, the company that runs e-commerce shop Jumia, followed with a $56 million dollar raise. The company’s investors also include heavyweights such as Goldman Sachs, Rocket Internet, and France’s mobile operator Orange.

Of course, with such small sample sizes, there’s not much we can take away from companies that raised funds on July 4th. But what it does tell us is that Independence Day doesn’t impede on an investors willingness to invest and an entrepreneurs willingness to work on holidays.