GDPR and the Localness of Venture Investment

We examine how investors' tendency to invest locally interacts with Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Using five-year investment data, we demonstrate that GDPR differentially affects investors as a function of their proximity to ventures. We show that GDPR's rollout in May 2018 has negative effects on EU venture investment, and the effects are larger when ventures and lead investors are not in the same state or union. The relationship manifests in the number of deals and the amount invested per deal, and is pronounced for newer, data-related, and consumer-facing ventures, as well as for repeat investments. GDPR's earlier enactment in April 2016 exhibits similar effects for investors that invest out of their preferred industries