US VCs Set to Raise Most Money Since 2001; $20B Raised Thru 3rd Quarter
During
the first three quarters of this year, $19.7 billion has been raised by
U.S. venture capital funds, compared with $16.7 billion during the same
period in 2005, according
VentureOne. Overall, $25 billion was raised by VC investors in all of
2005, the highest annual total since 2001 when VCs raised $49.7 billion. Firms
that closed large funds during the year include:
- $2.56 billion: Oak Investment Partners 12th fund, the largest VC fund ever raised
- $2.5 billion: New Enterprise Associates 12th fund closed in July
- $1.0 billion: VantagePoint Venture Partners fund closed in August
Meanwhile, the percentage of capital invested in funds under $100 million is 29.2% so far this year, compared to 44.2% in 2005, which itself was the lowest annual percentage since at least 1992.
The median size of funds raised this year so far is $195 million, on track to fall short of the 2005 median fund size of $201 million. Prior to 2005, however, the median U.S. fund size had not reached higher than the $155 million recorded in 2004 since VentureOne has been tracking the industry. Even during the bubble year of 2000, when the total U.S. VCs raised $83.2 billion, the median fund size was still $100 million, the data shows.
The big numbers for U.S. fund-raising come amid much speculation that the venture capital model needs fixing, spurred by VC firm Sevin Rosen Funds's announced plans earlier this month to scuttle an effort raise a tenth fund, citing reasons including too much VC money now chasing too few good potential deals.
