MUMBAI : Global venture capital funding in startups fell 2% in the quarter ended 30 June from the preceding quarter, with deal activity in Asia slowing even as the US reported a record number of deals, according to a report.
Investments in the US, Europe and Asia totalled $53 billion for the June quarter. The total number of deals, however, increased by 2% to 3,474 for the quarter, said the report by market intelligence platform CB Insights along with consulting firm PwC.
While Asia came close to surpassing North America’s deal activity in the third quarter of 2018, the region’s deal activity has since declined. It fell 24% in the June quarter.
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.
