<article><p>Accounting for eight of the top 10 venture capital deals, Asia pushed up the total global venture capital funding to a record high in the first nine months of 2018, surpassing the previous highs of 2017.</p></article>

<p>Accounting for eight of the top 10 venture capital deals, Asia pushed up the total global venture capital funding to a record high in the first nine months of 2018, surpassing the previous highs of 2017.</p>
<p>According to a recent report by Preqin, the 3,894 deals announced in Q3 2018 worth $69 billion pushed the cumulative deal flow in 2018 so far to 11,476 deals worth $195 billion. This marks a new record, shooting past 2017’s full-year total of 13,091 deals worth $189 billion.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is largely due to the rise of multi-billion-dollar funding rounds like those for Hangzhou Mouth [Phase Communication Network Technology Co] and <strong><a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/grab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grab</a></strong> in this quarter, but is also because deal pricing has been higher across the board,&#8221; said Christopher Elvin, Head of Private Equity at Preqin.</p>
<p><strong>Global Quarterly Venture Capital Deals, Q1 2013 &#8211; Q3 2018</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-q3.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108216" src="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-q3.png?resize=528,346" alt="" srcset="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-q3.png?w=528 528w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-q3.png?resize=300,197 300w" sizes="(max-width: 528px) 100vw, 528px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p>Preqin&#8217;s venture capital data excludes add-ons, grants, mergers, venture debt and secondary stock purchases.</p>
<p>During the quarter, North America and Greater China both saw transactions worth $28 billion across 1,592 deals and 1,112 deals respectively. Europe lagged behind, with just 637 deals announced worth $5.2 billion.</p>
<div class="page" title="Page 2">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><strong>Venture Capital Deals in Q3 2018 by Region</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-region.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108218" src="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-region.png?resize=573,400" alt="" srcset="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-region.png?w=573 573w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/vc-region.png?resize=300,209 300w" sizes="(max-width: 573px) 100vw, 573px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<div class="page" title="Page 2">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p>Just like preceding quarters, the third quarter was led by Chinese companies attracting the largest venture capital deals, led by the acquisition of Hangzhou Mouth Phase Communication Network Technology Co., Ltd. by <strong><a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/alibaba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alibaba Group</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/softbank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Softbank</a></strong> for $3 billion. Six of the 10 largest deals this quarter were made in China, while just two were made in the US.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab&#8217;s $2-billion funding round in August was the second largest in the three months ending September 30, 2018. Meanwhile, Indian budget hotels startup <strong><a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/oyo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OYO</a></strong> also secured a spot in the top 10 with its $800-million funding round.</p>
<p>Chinese startups had accounted for nine of the top 10 largest venture capital financing deals globally in the second quarter of 2018. Asian companies also captured nine of the top ten deals in the Jan-March quarter, when the region surpassed North America in both deal number and aggregate value.</p>
<div class="page" title="Page 3">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
<p><strong>The 10 Largest Venture Capital Deals Announced Globally in Q3 2018</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/largest-deals-1.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108220" src="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/largest-deals-1.png?resize=640,224" alt="" srcset="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/largest-deals-1.png?w=1408 1408w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/largest-deals-1.png?resize=300,105 300w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/largest-deals-1.png?resize=768,269 768w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/largest-deals-1.png?resize=1024,359 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 1408px) 100vw, 1408px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>As in the past, early-stage deals continued to dominate with 62 per cent of the total deals coming from angel through Series A rounds.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is no coincidence that this year has seen average deal sizes rise at almost all funding stages from seed investments onwards. Ultimately, with the year already having broken records, the only real question remaining going into Q4 is how high it can go,&#8221; said Elvin.</p>
<p><strong>North America leads in exits</strong></p>
<p>North America accounted for the largest proportion of exits in the quarter, with the region seeing 176 exits for $17 billion. There were a further 26 exits worth $9.8 billion in Greater China, the Preqin report showed. While a majority of the exit opportunities were seen in the US, Chinese companies including Meituan-Dianping, Pinduoduo, Nio Limited and BeiGene were among the top five companies globally that provided partial exits to some of their investors during the quarter.</p>
<p><a href="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/exit-region.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-108221" src="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/exit-region.png?resize=492,344" alt="" srcset="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/exit-region.png?w=492 492w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2018/10/exit-region.png?resize=300,210 300w" sizes="(max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a></p>
<p>A majority of the exits &#8211; around 73 per cent &#8211; were via trade sales, while IPOs were the second most popular exit route, accounting for 17 per cent of the pie.</p>
<div class="page" title="Page 3">
<div class="section">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column"></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p><strong>Also Read:</strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/chinese-startups-account-for-nine-of-top-10-global-vc-funding-deals-in-q2-101382/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese startups account for nine of top 10 global VC funding deals in Q2</a></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong><a style="color: #ff0000;" href="https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/asia-north-america-vc-q1-95681/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Asia overtakes North America as most active region for VC deals in Q1</a></strong></span></p>


The deals announced in Q3 2018 pushed the cumulative deal value in 2018 so far to $195 billion. This marks a new record, shooting past 2017’s full-year total of $189 billion.

Propelled by Asia, global VC funding surpasses 2017 record in just 9 months

Bring stories like this into your inbox every day.

Sign up for our newsletter - The Daily Brief

Propelled by Asia, global VC funding surpasses 2017 record in just 9 months

Start your deal-making journey now!

Bring stories like this into your inbox every day.

Sign up for our newsletter - The Daily Brief