Global VC investment soared past US$170 billion in Q3

Global VC investment set a record for the third-straight time with US$171.7 billion across 8,682 deals in Q3 , up from $166 billion across 9,217 deals in the previous quarter, said KPMG recently when releasing its Q3'21 edition of Venture Pulse. 

An incredible amount of dry powder, increasing participation by less traditional VC investors, and robust exit opportunities helped keep the VC market healthy, the firm noted.

A record 11 deals at or over $1 billion during the quarter helped propel VC investment to the new high, KPMG added. 

Highlights

• India-based Flipkart raised $3.6 billion in the largest deal of Q3'21, followed by US-based Rivian ($2.5 billion) and Generate ($2 billion. 
• Other companies that raised $1 billion+ funding rounds included India-based Byju ($1.7 billion), US-based Databricks ($1.6 billion), China-based Svolt ($1.58 billion), US-based Articulate ($1.5 billion) US-based Devoted Health ($1.2 billion), Brazil-based Nubank ($1.1 billion), US-based Chime ($1.1 billion), and US-based GoPuff ($1 billion).
• 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 across 2,616 deals 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.
• VC-backed exit value fell from a record $399.2 billion in Q2'21 to $292.4 billion across 780 deals in Q3'20. Total annual exit value passed the $1 trillion for the first time ever with Q4'21 still to come.
• 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 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.

VC investment in India doubles previous high as Asia Pacific sees strong quarter
VC investment in India smashed previous records, more than doubling from its previous quarterly high of $6.7 billion in Q2'21 to $14.4 billion during Q3’21, according to the report. 

India also saw a record 498 VC deals during the quarter, up from 376 the previous quarter, the report states. 

The country accounted for four of the largest deals in the Asia-Pacific region this quarter - including the $3.6 billion raise by Flipkart, a $1.7 billion raise by Byju, a $650 million raise by Eruditus Executive Education, and a $570 million raise by Meesho. Australia and Japan also saw record quarters of VC investment in Q3'21, with $1.7 billion and $1.4 billion in funding respectively.

China also attracted close to half of this total with $23.7 billon raised in Asia Pacific, KPMG said. 

Though China's central government introduced new rules for tutoring companies and banned all cryptocurrency transactions in Q3, hardware, healthcare, and consumer market companies continued to raise large VC rounds in China, KPMG observed. 

During the quarter, China's largest deals included energy storage company Svolt ($1.58 billion), life sciences firm AbogenBio ($700 million), and 5G tech company CICT Mobile ($569 million), KPMG added.