By Evan Vitale
Here are some of the venture capital stories that are making headlines this week!
Venture capital funding has hit a two-year low and venture capitalists are playing it “safe” this year, so says a report released by cnet.com.
After the heady days of 2015, when a whopping 25 companies were valued at a billion dollars or more between July and September alone, VC financing is resetting the pace, according to Venture Pulse, a report released Thursday. The report was compiled by CB Insights, which watches the VC market, and KPMG International, a consultancy.
Read the full story here: http://cnet.co/2dZ5h7S
Meanwhile, GeekWire shared some of the same news in that venture capital mega-deals have dropped by 53% during the third quarter 2016.
Globally, investments declined 14 percent compared to the third quarter as fewer companies raised “mega-deals” of $100 million or more. There were just 34 deals of $100 million or more during the third quarter, compared to 73 deals of that size in the third quarter of 2015.
Total funding came in at $24.1 billion for the third quarter, the lowest tally in two years.
Check out the story here: http://bit.ly/2dLZRyH
And, venturebeat.com has shared the same gloomy sentiments reporting that VC funding has hit a two-year low and has dropped 18% to $14.4 billion in North America as “unicorns” retreat.
At long last, venture capital’s long-awaited return to normalcy appears to be happening. VC funding for the third quarter of 2016 slid for nearly every key metric: a smaller number deals, less total funding, fewer +$100 million mega-rounds, and just 8 unicorns created. And that was globally. For North America, generally, and California, specifically, venture activity was subdued compared to the most quarters, but still quite healthy. Some might even call this as a return to capital efficiency.
“It’s worth noting that a bit of sobriety is a good thing. 2015 funding levels were irrationally high with a new unicorn being birthed every 3rd day as investors were keen to force-feed perceived startup winners with cash. That was not sustainable,” wrote Anand Sanwal, CEO of CB Insights, in Venture Pulse, a quarterly report published by KPMG International and CB Insights which was released today.
Read more here: http://bit.ly/2ea5iV2
