Venture capitalists were hard in 2021.
Data collected from a variety of sources indicates that the past year has set VC records around the world. From the dollars invested to the volume of business, sectors and geographies had their strongest performance and stood out in practically all continents.
Today’s startup boom, from a venture capital perspective, is an all-encompassing and incredibly expensive undertaking.
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With a record of record-setting venture capital activity in recent years, you might not feel like the past year was very special. Era. The total amount of capital disbursed and the rate at which these funds were applied are different from previous years and previous eras.
The good news of this fact is that we are seeing VC accounts increase in more markets than in previous startup boom cycles. That means more founders in more places are raising capital, even as traditional hot spots like Silicon Valley and the biggest US market hold much of their historic weight.
Next week, The Exchange will explore specific sectors, trends and regions of the world. Today, we are talking about large and high-level numbers and how much busier last year was for the set of ventures. With CB Insights data, Crunchbase news it is a first look at PitchBook regarding an upcoming data set, we have a lot of numbers to analyze.
So take a walk with us through what could be the most insane and busiest year we’ll ever see for venture capitalists. (Unless, of course, 2022 manages to overcome last year’s craziness. Don’t discount that possibility entirely; we are getting busy.)
A record year around the world
The top-notch numbers are staggering.
CB Insights reports that venture investing hit $621 billion in 2021, up 111% from 2020 levels. Remember, 2020 was effectively tied with 2018 as the biggest year for global venture investing – until 2021 arrived and claimed its crown.