August 13, 2021
Venture Capital: Global Venture Financing Trends
This Mayer Brown blog summarizes the results of a survey of global venture financing trends during the second quarter of 2021. Here’s an excerpt:
According to CB Insights’ latest State of Venture Report, global startup financing in Q2’21 reached $156.2 billion, a 157% year-over-year increase and a record quarter high. U.S. startup funding accounted for the largest portion of the global quarter total, raising $70.4 billion, followed by Asia raising $42.2 billion. Meanwhile, funding to China-based companies continued to decline with an 18% drop from its peak in Q4’20.
As a result of increased funding, global unicorn births saw a record quarter high with 136 new unicorns, an increase of 491% year-over-year. In the first half of 2021, the average unicorn valuation rose to $1.6 billion, up from the 2016 average of $1.2 billion. Mega-round deals (capital raises over $100 million) almost tripled compared to Q2’20, totaling 390 deals. Global M&A exits rebounded from pandemic lows to reach new records with 2,613 M&A exits and 280 IPOs.
The blog says that halfway through 2021, U.S. venture funding is approaching 2020’s yearly total despite fewer deals. The U.S. also reached a record quarter high of 76 unicorn births, including (Stripe valued at $95 billion), SpaceX ($74 billion), and Instacart ($39 billion).
– John Jenkins