Global VC Investment Soars Past $170 Billion in Third-Straight Record Quarter, Says KPMG Private Enterprise’s Venture Pulse Report

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The year’s healthy level of Global VC investment showed no signs of stopping with Q3’21, setting a record for the third-straight time with $171.7 billion across 8,882 deals. An incredible amount of dry powder, increasing participation by less traditional VC investors, and robust exit opportunities helped keep the VC market very healthy according to the Q3’21 edition of Venture Pulse – a quarterly report published by KPMG Private Enterprise on VC trends globally and in key jurisdictions around the world.

A record 11 deals at, or over $1 billion during the quarter helped propel VC investment to the new high. India-based Flipkart raised $3.6 billion in the largest deal of Q3’21, with many of the other larger deals globally having a cleantech or ESG element, including the $2.5 billion raise by US-based electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian and $2 billion raise by alternative energy infrastructure company Generate.

The Americas accounted for more than half of the global VC investment total, with a record $94 billion in funding during Q3’21. The US accounted for $82.8 billion of this total – also setting a new quarterly record. VC investment in the Asia-Pacific region reached $48.1 billion in its best quarter since Q2’18 and its second-highest quarter of VC investment ever. After a record Q2’21, VC investment in Europe dipped slightly to $27.5 billion primarily due to a summer slowdown during which many dealmakers took vacation for the first time since the pandemic began.

Global exit activity remained robust – with $292 billion in exit value across 780 deals in Q3’21. This helped propel YTD totals over $1 trillion – more than double the previous high of $468 billion (set in 2020) with one quarter left in the year.

“The word ‘record’ has been a recurring theme each quarter when it comes to reporting on global VC investment and CVC investment, not to mention VC investment in many jurisdictions,” said Kevin Smith Head of KPMG Private Enterprise in EMA, and Partner at KPMG in the UK, “The reality is that 2021 has been a magical year for the VC market globally and we’re not done yet.”

VC investment in Q4’21 is expected to remain very healthy, bringing an end to an incredible year for VC markets around the world. The continued abundance of capital, robust fundraising activity, rapidly maturing VC markets around the world, and a growing diversity of sectors attracting investment will likely keep total investment very strong.

“It’s been an impressive year for VC investment, with robust interest in many diverse sectors including fintech, B2B services and healthcare and biotech, said Conor Moore, Head of KPMG Private Enterprise in the Americas region, and Partner at KPMG in the US. “One of the most exciting areas of investment this quarter, however, was cleantech. Given the increasing global interest in ESG, the incredible importance of climate change and reducing GHG emissions, and COP26 centre of the world stage in November there will likely be even more investment in this space over the next quarter and into 2022.”

Key Highlights – Q3’21

• Global VC investment rose from $166 billion across 9,217 deals in Q2’21 to a record $171.7 billion across 8,682 deals in Q3’21.
• VC investment in the Americas reached a third-straight record high, with $94 billion invested across 3,934 deals. The US accounted for $82.8 billion of this investment and 3,518 of the deals.
• VC investment in Europe remained strong, with $27.5 billion of investment across 1,910 deals in Q3’21 – down from the record $36 billion seen in Q2’21.
• The Asia-Pacific region saw $48.1 billion in VC investment across 2,616 deals in Q3’21 – the second highest quarter of VC investment after Q2’18.
• Global corporate-affiliated VC investment reached a record $85.5 billon in Q3’21 – propelling annual CVC-related investment to a record $230.7 billion with a quarter left in the year.
• VC-backed exit value fell from a record $399.2 billion in Q2’21 to $292.4 billion during Q3’20. Total annual exit value passed the $1 trillion for the first time ever with Q4’21 still to come.

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