Report: US VC funding activity is at its highest level since 2001, and still growing

In news that will no doubt get people frothing at the mouth about a bubble once again, US venture capital investments are at their highest quarterly amount since 2001, beating last quarter’s record level. That’s according to a new report from VC intelligence firm CB Insights.

In total, the first half of 2014 is up 71 percent on last year’s activity over the same period. The report says that in Q2 2014 there were 974 VC deals and a total of $13.8 billion invested in the USA.

While more than 50 percent of Q2 deals were seed stage and Series A, late stage (series D and later) deals were at a five-quarter high, taking a 17 percent share. Despite worries around high-profile delayed IPOs, such as Box, VC-backed IPOs are at their second-highest level over the past five quarters. M&A, meanwhile, is at its highest level over the same period.

Oh, and the ‘Series B crunch‘ that investors have been fretting over, that potentially hurts companies’ growth? CB Insights’ data shows that Series B deals have remained steady at a 15-19 percent share of deals over the past five quarters, while the share of seed-stage deals has fallen to its lowest level.

Is all this activity healthy for a sector of growing importance to the world or indicative of a bubble waiting to pop? Your answer probably depends on where your money is.

➤ CB Insights Venture Capital Report Q2 2014

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