Global VC funding stays flat as Asia lags others in dealmaking

US companies raised 64 mega-rounds of more than $100 million each in the June quarter, accounting for nearly half of all funds raised in the period.

That compares with 48 and 51 mega-rounds in the December and March quarters respectively.

The slowdown in Asia was led by reduced deal-making in China. However, funding in India continues to remain strong.

Mint reported on 30 June that startups in India have raised a record $3.9 billion from venture capitalists in the six months ended 30 June, as the world’s biggest investors doubled down on their bets in the country buoyed by the Flipkart-Walmart deal last year.

Sector wise, internet companies raised the maximum capital, $12 billion in the quarter, followed by healthcare and mobile and telecom firms, which raised $4.6 billion and $3.1 billion, respectively, according to the report.

Following the stock market listing of ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc., e-cigarette maker Juul Labs become the most funded start-up, with $12.6 billion in funding over the years, from investors, including Altria Group, the makers of Marlboro cigarettes.

In the quarter ended 30 June, exits through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) remained flat at $162 billion, but exits through initial public offerings shot up to $33 billion, from $15 billion and $16 billion in the preceding two quarters, respectively.

This was driven by a slew of public market listings in the US ranging from Uber and social network Pinterest, to workplace collaboration platform Slack and Zoom Video Communications.