US, Venture Capital Activity Remains Strong in Second Quarter

Investors deployed $21.78 billion to 1,958 venture-backed companies during the second quarter 2017, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.

Through the first six months of the year, 3,876 companies received $37.76 billion in financing. Looking to the second half of the year, venture investors will continue to deploy capital to high-growth startups, having raised more than $130 billion since 2014, including $11.4 billion raised in the second quarter of 2017 across 58 funds.

Fundraising activity

Following three consecutive years of strong fundraising activity, including a ten-year high of $41 billion raised in 2016, venture capital continues to draw strong interest from Limited Partners seeking outsized returns by supporting the growth of innovative companies. In the second quarter, venture investors raised $11.4 billion across 58 funds, including the notable fundraise of $3.3 billion by NEA, the biggest venture fund on record.

Investment activity

In the first half of 2017, 3,876 venture-backed companies raised $37.76 billion, after $21.78 billion was deployed to 1,958 companies in the second quarter alone. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, capital invested in venture-backed companies is up by 36 percent, while the number of companies receiving investment is stable.

Exit activity

While Q1 IPO activity got off to a slow start with just 8 companies listing publicly, the second quarter showed the IPO window opening with 19 companies going public, including five Unicorns. However, there are some cautionary notes amidst the more robust second quarter activity. The IPO market was led by San Francisco-based Okta and Palo Alto-based Cloudera – which went public at a significant discount to its last private round of financing.

Download the Q2 2017 PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor and XLS Data Pack here.

FinSMEs

11/07/2017

 

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