{
  "format_version": 3,
  "claim_formal": {
    "subject": "US venture capital deal value",
    "property": "2021 annual total and 2022 year-over-year decline percentage",
    "operator": "compound",
    "compound_operator": "AND",
    "operator_note": "SC1: 2021 US VC deal value \u2248 $332B (\u00b1$15B). The NVCA/PitchBook Q4 2021 Venture Monitor reports $329.9B (initial estimate); a revised PitchBook figure later cited $344.7B. The claim's '$332B' falls between these, plausibly reflecting a different aggregation or rounding. SC2: 2022 US VC deal value declined by >35% from 2021. CB Insights reports $198.4B in 2022 (down 37% from 2021). PitchBook-NVCA reports $238.3B in 2022 (down 30.8% from the revised $344.7B). Sources disagree on whether the decline exceeded 35%: CB Insights says yes (37%), PitchBook says no (30.8%). This discrepancy reflects different fund universes and deal-inclusion methodologies. SC2 is partially supported.",
    "threshold_sc1_usd": 300000000000.0,
    "threshold_sc2_pct": 35.0
  },
  "claim_natural": "US venture capital funding reached $332 billion in 2021 before declining by over 35% in 2022.",
  "evidence": {
    "B1": {
      "type": "empirical",
      "label": "NVCA press release: 2021 US VC = $329.9B",
      "sub_claim": null,
      "source": {
        "name": "NVCA Press Release: U.S. VC Activity Soars to New Highs in 2021",
        "url": "https://nvca.org/press_releases/u-s-venture-capital-soars-to-new-highs-in-2021/",
        "quote": "a staggering $329.9 billion was invested across an estimated 17,054 deals, a record for deal count and roughly double 2020's previous deal value high"
      },
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "unicode_normalized",
        "coverage_pct": null,
        "fetch_mode": "live",
        "credibility": {
          "domain": "nvca.org",
          "source_type": "unknown",
          "tier": 2,
          "flags": [],
          "note": "Unclassified domain \u2014 verify source authority manually"
        }
      },
      "extraction": {
        "value": "",
        "value_in_quote": false,
        "quote_snippet": null
      }
    },
    "B2": {
      "type": "empirical",
      "label": "CB Insights: 2022 US VC = $198.4B (down 37% from 2021)",
      "sub_claim": null,
      "source": {
        "name": "CB Insights: State of Venture 2022 Report",
        "url": "https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/venture-trends-2022/",
        "quote": "US venture funding hit $198.4B in 2022 \u2014 down 37% from 2021, but up 31% when compared to 2020"
      },
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "full_quote",
        "coverage_pct": null,
        "fetch_mode": "live",
        "credibility": {
          "domain": "cbinsights.com",
          "source_type": "unknown",
          "tier": 2,
          "flags": [],
          "note": "Unclassified domain \u2014 verify source authority manually"
        }
      },
      "extraction": {
        "value": "",
        "value_in_quote": false,
        "quote_snippet": null
      }
    },
    "B3": {
      "type": "empirical",
      "label": "PitchBook-NVCA via Built In: 2022 US VC = $238.3B (down 30.8% from $344.7B)",
      "sub_claim": null,
      "source": {
        "name": "Built In: VC Funding Dropped in 2022 but Eclipsed Pre-2021 Totals (citing PitchBook-NVCA)",
        "url": "https://builtin.com/articles/tech-funding-2022-pitchbook-report",
        "quote": "About $238.3 billion was allocated in VC deals last year, according to PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor"
      },
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "unicode_normalized",
        "coverage_pct": null,
        "fetch_mode": "live",
        "credibility": {
          "domain": "builtin.com",
          "source_type": "unknown",
          "tier": 2,
          "flags": [],
          "note": "Unclassified domain \u2014 verify source authority manually"
        }
      },
      "extraction": {
        "value": "",
        "value_in_quote": false,
        "quote_snippet": null
      }
    }
  },
  "cross_checks": [],
  "adversarial_checks": [
    {
      "description": "PitchBook-NVCA reports only 30.8% decline (< 35% threshold)",
      "verification_performed": "PitchBook-NVCA Q4 2022 Venture Monitor reports 2022 US VC at $238.3B, down 30.8% from the revised 2021 figure of $344.7B. This is below the claim's >35% threshold and directly contradicts SC2. PitchBook is the most authoritative VC data source for the US market. The discrepancy with CB Insights (-37% using $198.4B) reflects: (1) different fund universes included, (2) different treatment of corporate VC and CVC arms, (3) PitchBook's revised 2021 baseline of $344.7B vs CB Insights' lower baseline.",
      "breaks_proof": true
    },
    {
      "description": "$332B claim vs $329.9B actual (NVCA) \u2014 minor discrepancy",
      "verification_performed": "The NVCA press release cites $329.9B for 2021 (initial estimate). PitchBook later revised this to $344.7B. The claim's $332B is between these two figures, suggesting it may reflect KPMG's Venture Pulse Q4 2021 or an intermediate estimate. No single major source publishes exactly $332B, but the figure is within the range of credible estimates.",
      "breaks_proof": false
    },
    {
      "description": "Global vs US figures \u2014 scope alignment",
      "verification_performed": "The NVCA/PitchBook figures are for US-only venture capital. CB Insights also reports global figures (e.g., $415B global VC in 2021) which are higher. The claim uses 'US venture capital funding,' consistent with the NVCA/PitchBook scope. No scoping inconsistency in the sources used.",
      "breaks_proof": false
    }
  ],
  "verdict": {
    "value": "PARTIALLY VERIFIED",
    "qualified": false,
    "qualifier": null,
    "reason": null
  },
  "key_results": {
    "vc_2021_nvca_B": 329.9,
    "decline_cbi_pct": 37.0,
    "decline_pb_pct": 30.9,
    "sc1_holds": true,
    "sc2_cbi_holds": true,
    "claim_holds": false
  },
  "generator": {
    "name": "proof-engine",
    "version": "1.11.0",
    "repo": "https://github.com/yaniv-golan/proof-engine",
    "generated_at": "2026-04-08"
  },
  "sub_claim_results": {
    "sc1": {
      "description": "2021 US VC \u2248 $332B",
      "nvca_value_B": 329.9,
      "claim_value_B": 332.0,
      "discrepancy_B": 2.1,
      "holds": true
    },
    "sc2": {
      "description": "2022 US VC declined by >35%",
      "cbi_decline_pct": 37.0,
      "pb_decline_pct": 30.9,
      "cbi_confirms": true,
      "pb_confirms": false
    }
  },
  "proof_py_url": "/proofs/us-venture-capital-funding-reached-332-billion-in-2021-before-declining-by-over/proof.py",
  "citation": {
    "doi": null,
    "concept_doi": null,
    "url": "https://proofengine.info/proofs/us-venture-capital-funding-reached-332-billion-in-2021-before-declining-by-over/",
    "author": "Proof Engine",
    "cite_bib_url": "/proofs/us-venture-capital-funding-reached-332-billion-in-2021-before-declining-by-over/cite.bib",
    "cite_ris_url": "/proofs/us-venture-capital-funding-reached-332-billion-in-2021-before-declining-by-over/cite.ris"
  },
  "depends_on": []
}