Valuation Cut or Smart Reset? Dissecting 2024’s Down Rounds

CHART OF THE WEEK 📈

By Teddy Lyons | Read

Down rounds—financings in which a company’s valuation falls versus the prior round—carry a stigma in venture circles. The instinctive reaction is: something must be broken. Sometimes that’s true, but there’s a richer story behind most markdowns.

In today’s chart of the week, we look at the quantity and scale of down rounds in equity crowdfunding rounds that launched in 2024.

Have a suggestion for a data story you’d like us to look into? Submit by replying to this email

KINGSCROWD PODCAST

By Sam Fiske / Watch | Apple | Spotify

In this week’s Kingscrowd Podcast, Brian Belley, Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau, and Teddy Lyons explore down rounds—funding rounds at reduced valuations—and their impact on investors. While commonly viewed negatively, down rounds can offer strategic investment opportunities when understood in context. They examine real-world examples, including Elemental Health, to explain how investors should approach these scenarios.

Next, the team reviews a follow-up funding opportunity: Neopenda, a med-tech innovator that provides affordable, battery-powered health monitors for newborns in resource-limited hospitals. With EU regulatory approval secured, NeoPenda’s device is positioned for significant global expansion, tackling critical healthcare challenges. The analysis covers valuation insights, founder motivations, risks, and potential returns.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Join KingsCrowd CEO Chris Lustrino for a live, interactive session with Energea co-founder Mike Silvestrini and Director of Investor Relations Tyler Hurlburt to demystify how solar power-purchase agreements convert sunlight into reliable cash flow, explain the risk-mitigation tools and geographic diversification behind Energea’s U.S., Brazil, and African portfolios, and answer your questions about adding renewable infrastructure to your investment strategy—reserve your spot for this investor-focused webinar on Thursday, June 19th at 2pm ET.

PITCH REVIEW 💸

By Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau \ Deal Report

Brief: Neopenda is a healthcare technology company that provides wearable vital signs monitors for hospitals in low-resource settings. Its flagship product, neoGuard, continuously tracks key health indicators and sends real-time alerts to clinicians, helping them monitor multiple patients simultaneously. The device is already in use at over 30 hospitals, primarily in Kenya, with plans for broader rollout. By replacing manual checks with automated monitoring, Neopenda enables faster interventions and more efficient care in environments with high patient-to-staff ratios.

Léa’s Take: The most exciting startups are not just filling gaps in the market; they are solving problems that truly matter. Neopenda is one of them.

In many hospitals across emerging markets, medical staff are overwhelmed and resources are limited. Vital sign monitors, standard in high-income countries, are often out of reach. Neopenda developed a wearable vital signs monitor specifically for newborns in low-resource hospitals. This is more than just a clever product. It is a device with the power to save lives.

The company has already made impressive strides. After raising millions from investors, Neopenda built its product from the ground up and crafted a go-to-market strategy that works in its context. It is now generating revenue and closing deals at a speed that defies expectations. In some cases, hospitals sign on in just two days, with most sales cycles concluding within six months. That is significantly faster than the timelines typically seen in the U.S. medtech space.

Neopenda also earned the CE mark, the European Union’s counterpart to FDA approval. This has opened several doors across sub-Saharan Africa. The company received automatic authorization to sell in Uganda and was expedited through the approval process in Kenya.

While challenges persist, Neopenda is navigating them with clarity. Its growth strategy focuses both on acquiring new hospitals and expanding within existing ones, driving up both impact and revenue. Neopenda is not just building a business. It is improving access to essential care for the world’s most vulnerable patients and proving that innovation can be both meaningful and scalable. Want to learn more? We discuss the deal in this week's Kingscrowd Podcast.

STAFF PICKS 🌶️

Breath Diagnostics

By Teddy Lyons

This company has developed a device to detect lung cancer with just a single exhale. Already tested on 800+ patients with strong specificity and sensitivity, this is one of the more de-risked MedTech opportunities I’ve seen.

Gemist

By Teddy Lyons

I don’t wear jewelry, but with over a million in ARR, I clearly see the value add of Gemist. Backed by major VCs like Lightspeed Ventures, Gemist is a B2B SaaS company that is bringing an old industry, jewelry sales, into the 21st century with its vertically integrated solution.

TableOne

By Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau

We've seen many restaurant booking apps raising online since the pandemic. For once, this deal actually brings convenience to clients and is already generating $150k ARR. Definitely worth a look.

Enjoyed this newsletter? Forward it to an investing-minded friend and have them signup here.