Boutique research firm Preqin has just released their “2013 Private Equity Venture Capital Deals” fact sheet that breaks down important statistics and trends in global venture capital markets. The fact sheet highlights the continued growth of global venture capital markets and the high inflows of venture capital into Europe in 2013. Asia had a busy first half of the year for VC deals, but things slowed down a bit in 2H 2013.
Global Venture Capital statistics
The fact sheet points out that the total number of venture capital deals worldwide in 2013 decreased slightly relative to 2012, but the total venture capital dollars invested increased by more than 5%.
North America was as usual the region that received by far the most venture capital investment in 2013, with 3,686 venture capital deals worth $31.6 billion, compared to 4,233 deals totaling $32.9 billion in 2012. The U.S., Canada and Mexico accounted for 62% of the total number of VC deals worldwide in 2013 and 68% of the total deal value.
Surge in European venture capital
Venture capital inflows to Europe increased rapidly in 2013. More than $8.3 billion in venture capital flowed into European businesses in 2013, compared to just $5.9 billion in 2012. The total number of VC deals in Europe was also up a solid 8% compared to the prior year, with 1,352 European VC deals in 2013 and just 1,250 deals in 2012.
Preqin points out that the greater than 35% increase in the dollar value of European VC deals “…is a clear indicator that significant growth and confidence is returning to the continent.”
Growth in VC investments in emerging markets
Emerging economies also claimed a significantly larger share of the global venture capital pie in 2013. The introduction to Preqin’s fact sheet summarizes the growth in venture capital in emerging economies. “The number of deals in economies outside the main venture capital hubs of North America, Europe, Greater China, India and Israel rose by 38% to 319 from 231 in 2012, along with a 148% increase in value to $2.1 bn from $856 mn.”