U.S. Venture Capital Fundraising Up 13 Percent In First Half Of 2010 To $7.5B
Including a U.S. private equity shops, which includes venture funds, 198 funds raised $45.1 billion during the first half, down 26% from the same period in 2009. Buyout funds raised saw the biggest drop in money raised, finding $21 billion across 74 funds, down 35% from $32.4 billion raised by 75 funds a year ago, as limited partners’ interest in mega funds — those targeting $6 billion and up — waned.
But venture funding remained strong, says Dow Jones. Multi-stage funds saw the strongest fundraising for the time periods with Twenty multi-stage funds raising a total of $4 billion, a 15% increase from the $3.4 billion invested in 24 multi-stage funds during the same period last year.
Capital raised by early-stage funds jumped 19% as 49 funds attracted $3 billion in the first half of the year. Later-stage funds, which have generally been known for raising less than multi-stage or eary-stage funds, locked in $500 million for three funds, down 21% from the year-earlier period.
The venture industry’s biggest close came from Sequoia Capital’s Sequoia China Foreign Currency Fund III fund which secured $1 billion its early-stage fund during the first half of the year.