Evidence from multiple VC data sources shows that 2021 was an exceptional peak year for startup capital (roughly US$750B globally) and that funding volumes and deal activity in 2023–2025 have stayed well below that peak. (onmine.io) Global venture funding fell sharply in 2022–2023 and, although it recovered somewhat in 2024 to around US$314–368B, that was still roughly half of 2021’s level; one analysis notes 2024 VC activity remained about 55% below the 2021 peak. (news.crunchbase.com) PitchBook/NVCA and KPMG both describe 2023–2024 as a subdued, investor‑friendly market marked by a liquidity crunch, reduced deal sizes, and low VC fundraising—conditions explicitly contrasted with the easy‑money environment of 2021. (pitchbook.com) Structural tightness is also visible in the consolidation of capital into a smaller number of top-tier firms and a >25% drop in the number of active U.S. VC firms since 2021, which narrows funding access for many startups compared with the broad-based exuberance of 2021. (ft.com) By Q3 2025, quarterly global VC investment (~US$120.7B) is robust but still below average 2021 quarterly levels and heavily concentrated in AI megadeals rather than a return to across-the-board easy funding. (kpmg.com) Taken together, these facts support Sacks’s claim that, for the period after early 2023, capital availability for startups has remained structurally tighter and materially different from the 2021 boom, without a reversion to 2021-style easy funding conditions.