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Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: North American venture capital deal value reached $182bn by 2020's end, up 29% from 2019, with an annual average growth rate of 14% since 2016, said a study.
According to Preqin, COVID-19 couldn't stop venture capital deal-making in North America. Total deal value emerged from a turbulent 2020 at a record high, with the deals profile relatively unchanged.
However, while the total deal value increased compared with 2019, the number of transactions declined. About 6,564 venture capital deals were completed in North America during 2020, down 5% from 2019, and down further from 2014's peak of nearly 9,000 deals.
"The early part of the year played out as expected; venture capitalists shied away from the riskier ends of the deal spectrum as the initial uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold," said Charles McGrath, Senior Writer at Preqin.
Preqin data shows there were fewer deals in the earlier seed and angel stages, with a shallower decline in later-stage capital injections. Skewing the early-year data was a $2.25bn seed investment on March 2 in Waymo, Google's self-driving car venture, by a consortium of investors.
A deeper look into the data shows that a sizable portion of North American venture funding went to the more 'pandemic-friendly' sectors. Biotechnology companies, for example, attracted $23bn in funding last year, up 74% in 2019.
Some of the more forward-looking industries also received significant...................... To view our full article Click here
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