<article>Asia bucked a global trend by posting a 42 per cent increase in venture capital deal volume in 2018. Startups in the region raised a total of $81 billion from VC firms across 5,066 transactions, according to the PwC-CB Insights MoneyTree Q4 2018 report.</article>

Asia bucked a global trend by posting a 42 per cent increase in venture capital deal volume in 2018. Startups in the region raised a total of $81 billion from VC firms across 5,066 transactions, according to the PwC-CB Insights MoneyTree Q4 2018 report.
Funding in Asian startups increased for the second straight year, while deal activity went up for the fifth consecutive year.
Annual Global Financing Trend: Asia
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While the US continued to secure the highest funding at $99.5 billion in 2018, the number of deals dropped to 5,536 during the year from 5,824 in 2017. The funding activity in Europe increased to $21 billion in 2018 across 2,745 deals, compared with $18 billion across 2,871 in the previous year, the report said.
Annual Global Financing Trend: US
<a href="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/us-financing.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-116431" src="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/us-financing.png?resize=640,233" alt="" srcset="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/us-financing.png?w=900 900w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/us-financing.png?resize=300,109 300w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/us-financing.png?resize=768,280 768w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>
<h3>Asia accounted for four of the top six VC deals globally in Q4 2018</h3>
South Korea&#8217;s e-commerce firm Coupang took the top spot with a $2-billion financing from SoftBank Vision Fund, while China&#8217;s Lu.com took the second slot after raising $1.33 billion from All-Stars Investment, Goldman Sachs and LionRock Capital.
Other Asian firms to make it to the top six included Indonesia-based e-commerce firm Tokopedia and Indian food ordering firm Swiggy.
Largest Global Deals of Q4 2018
<a href="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-deals.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-116430" src="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-deals.png?resize=640,290" alt="" srcset="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-deals.png?w=900 900w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-deals.png?resize=300,136 300w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-deals.png?resize=768,348 768w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>
<h3>Of unicorns and mega rounds</h3>
The US surpassed Asia for most new unicorns for the second straight quarter. The country saw the birth of 53 new unicorns in 2018 compared to 29 unicorns in 2017.
Although behind the US, Asia&#8217;s unicorn club registered an impressive 60 per cent increase in 2018; the region ended last year with 40 companies valued at $1 billion or above, up from 25 in 2017.
Globally, there was a surge in mega funding rounds ($100 million and above). There were a record 382 such rounds in 2018, which pushed the overall funding total despite the decline in deal activity.
The US saw a record number of 184 mega rounds raised in 2018. Asia, meanwhile, saw a 35 per cent increase in $100-million+ VC funding rounds at 162 in 2018 compared to 120 in 2017.
<h3>Top dealmakers of Q4 2018</h3>
From Asia, Sequoia Capital China made it to the list of the most active venture capital firms globally in Q4. Its investments during the year included Leap Motor, Keking, and 4Paradigm. Others to make it to the top five were from the US, including 500 Startups, Plug and Play Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and New Enterprise Associates.
<a href="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-vcs.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-116434" src="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-vcs.png?resize=640,257" alt="" srcset="https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-vcs.png?w=900 900w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-vcs.png?resize=300,121 300w, https://media.dealstreetasia.com/uploads/2019/01/top-vcs.png?resize=768,309 768w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>

Asia also accounted for four of the top six venture funding deals globally in Q4 of 2018.

Asia bucks global trend, posts 42% growth in VC deal volume in 2018

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Asia bucks global trend, posts 42% growth in VC deal volume in 2018

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