EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
EMERGING TECH
US venture capital hits record high of $130B in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic
Venture capital funding hit a record high of nearly $130 billion in 2020, up 14% over 2019 despite the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released early Friday in PWC/CB Insights’ latest MoneyTree Headline Report.
Funding and deals remained strong in the fourth quarter after the third quarter saw the second-highest quarter on record with $36.5 billion raised, up 30% from the second quarter and 22% year-over-year. The all-time record is $40.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The fourth quarter also beat the third-quarter record with $36.7 billion raised, taking the mantle of the second-highest quarter ever. There were 1,549 venture capital rounds in the quarter, up from 1,525 in the third quarter and the highest number deals since the third quarter of 2019.
So-called megarounds, venture capital rounds of $100 million or more continued to dominate with 99 in the quarter, the highest ever recorded and up from 87 in the third quarter, the previous record high number. The value for megarounds was down slightly in the quarter, however, to $18.1 billion, from $19.6 billion in the previous quarter.
For the full calendar year 2020, there were 318 megarounds, way up from 220 in 2019 and 200 in 2018, the highest on record with $63 billion raised, yet another record. Nearly half of all funding in 2020 came from megarounds.
While still the most common form of funding, the number of seed deals dropped to 400 in the quarter, down from 414 in the third quarter and one of the lowest number of seed rounds in recent times. Series A rounds fell slightly, to 306, and Series B rounds rose slightly to 230. While Series C and D rounds were roughly on par with previous quarters, the totals raised both rose significantly: Series C rounds averaged $42 million per deal and Series D rounds averaged $55 million.
For the full year, total rounds came in at 6,022 deals, a decline of 9% from 6,599 in 2019, reflecting a weak first half, particularly the second quarter where deals slowed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: sadsnaps/Flickr
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