Improving Accuracy and Respecting Privacy

Before I dive into the investment numbers for May, it’s worth highlighting a few important updates in how Kingscrowd collects and reports crowdfunding data.

First, we’ve begun collecting daily funding data for several weeks after a campaign’s closing date. This change reflects our observation that some campaigns will continue to have changes in funding even after the official end date listed on their investment page. In some cases, funding totals drop post-close due to refunds or revised commitments. While other raises increase as platforms finalize delayed transactions. This discrepancy often comes down to the difference between some platforms reporting “commitments” (pledges that are not yet processed), while others prefer to only provide finalized “investments” (pledges where funds have been processed). Our new extended tracking window ensures we capture a more accurate final outcome, especially in advance of official Form C-U filings with the SEC. This may also help to explain some of the discrepancies between our weekly Funding Reports and these end of month reviews. 

Second, in response to requests from multiple platforms and companies, we have begun to withhold total amounts raised for rounds marked as “private”—including those in friends-and-family or soft-launch phases. While Kingscrowd previously revealed these raised totals on round pages and in momentum calculations, we now recognize that some issuers prefer discretion until their offering is publicly listed. Going forward, we’ll delay publication of those investment totals until the campaigns open to general investors.

These changes, while subtle, are important. They reflect Kingscrowd’s continued commitment to data quality, platform collaboration, and transparency in the rapidly evolving world of investment crowdfunding.

You might’ve also noticed an improvement to our weekly Funding Reports. If not, I encourage you to take a look. While they’ve been a regular staple in our reporting structure, they’d grown increasingly stale in both style and content. We now display the change in platform position, as well as their number of Active, Closed, and Failed rounds from the last week. And along with our top Reg CF rounds by dollars raised, we now include the percent of total winners for the week. 

It’s been my belief for some time that while there’s credit due to the companies that raise the most funds overall, there’s something equally impressive about any company that can meet their maximum funding goal in the shortest amount of time. 

Cooling Off After the Spring Surge

As predicted, May brought a measurable cool-down in overall platform activity with $26.44 million raised across the Reg CF ecosystem, a noticeable dip from the roughly $33.97 million raised in April. This month reinforced historical patterns where activity often resets following the tax deadline and the SEC’s annual reporting push. Let’s dive in.

Wefunder led all platforms again with $5.64 million raised from roughly 4,384 investors, holding onto its dominant market position even amid lower overall momentum. StartEngine followed closely with $5.22 million raised and 2,266 investors, demonstrating continued engagement among retail investors. DealMaker Securities captured third with $3.68 million and 2,612 investors, continuing its strong performance with larger, higher-ticket campaigns.

A noteworthy entry this month came from ChainRaise, which posted $3.35 million in investments. However, nearly all of ChainRaise’s capital this month came from a single raise—DCBooks—highlighting how just one well-executed campaign can dramatically skew platform performance. This pattern echoes what we saw in April, when Eagle Energy Metals Corp. and Mivium both raised over $5 million on Equifund and propelled the platform to the top of the rankings for the month. These cases serve as strong reminders that standout campaigns can shape entire platform narratives, especially during slower market periods.

Big Totals, Bold Finishes, and Standout Outliers

While overall capital raised dipped in May, a handful of standout campaigns still managed to draw significant investor interest—either by raising large sums, rapidly reaching their funding targets, or outperforming their goals by wide margins.

To no surprise, leading the pack was DCBooks on ChainRaise, which raised $3.3 million, surpassing its $3 million cap at 110%. DCBooks not only topped the charts in terms of total dollars raised but also did so with impressive speed and efficiency—highlighting once again how one campaign can dominate both metrics of performance. Other major fundraisers this month included Siren Biotechnology on Wefunder, which pulled in $1.21 million during May alone, reaching 24% of its $5 million target. While not the strongest campaign by percentage, it did generate early investor momentum in a challenging market. Yarnhub Animation Studios, which closed on PicMii, raised $1.08 million in May, supported by a Top Deal investment from Kingscrowd Capital.

Meanwhile, I’ve been keeping an eye on the world of fractional ownership, specifically the deals over at MyRacehorse. Its latest offering, Puca ’24, met 100% of its $980K goal, once again reinforcing the platform’s uncanny ability to consistently close every offering they post.

When measured by percentage of maximum goal raised, several smaller campaigns punched well above their weight. Sl8, a CBDC-ready social network on Wefunder, brought in $221,946, or 179% of its $124K goal, all in the final week of May. Kif Kefir Soda, another Wefunder campaign, reached 125% of its funding goal, continuing the streak of food and beverage startups outperforming expectations through community-driven support.

Even in the debt crowdfunding space, we saw velocity. Fabled Ice Cream, a hyper-local Honeycomb campaign, jumped from $0 to fully funded in the final two days of May—reaching 100.1% of its $30K cap with time to spare.

Taken together, these campaigns illustrate that even during a slower month, well-positioned companies can still break through the noise—whether by virtue of their storytelling, the sectors they occupy, or by bringing their own enthusiastic crowd to the table. And the diversity of hosting platforms suggests that there is room for success across the spectrum.

A Natural Pause After the Spring Rush

May 2025 lived up to its reputation as a transition month in the crowdfunding calendar. After a surge in activity through March and April—driven by heightened investor engagement and the looming April 30th SEC deadline—May saw a reset. Total capital raised dropped to $26.44 million, and investor participation fell accordingly. But this cooldown wasn’t unexpected.

Looking at prior years reinforces the pattern. In May 2024, platforms raised a nearly identical $26.85 million, while in May 2023, the industry saw a stronger—but still seasonally tapered—$39.42 million. These figures suggest that May routinely underperforms its surrounding months, not because of weakening fundamentals, but because the industry takes a collective breath.

Looking ahead, June historically brings a gradual return to form, with new campaigns launching as compliance work concludes and 2024 financials come to light. If economic conditions remain stable, we expect a rebound in both the number of active raises and capital committed.