Global venture capital investments are at record levels this year, boosted by a surge in equities, higher liquidity and an increased interest in sectors that have benefited from the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Refinitiv data, global venture capital funds invested $268.7 billion so far in 2021, far outstripping their total investments of $251.2 billion a year earlier.
The bulk of those deals were in software, e-commerce, digital healthcare and fin-tech companies, whose products and services have seen strong demand during the pandemic, data showed.
“(Lockdowns) and changes in consumer behaviour have fuelled growth for digital startups, in turn, accelerating investor appetite,” said Jaime Moreno, chief operating officer of Secfi, a San Francisco-based provider of equity planning tools for startup employees.
Late-stage startups have attracted the lion’s share of the funds, with venture capital firms pumping in $195.3 billion, or about 73% of their total investments, while early-stage companies have received $73.4 billion.
“Venture capital continues to flow into later-stage startups. This is driven by the euphoria of several large later stage exits recently,” said Swati Chaturvedi, chief executive officer of San Francisco-based angel investing platform Propel X.
