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#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture
Pulse
Q4 2017
Global analysis of
venture funding
16 January 2018
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#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Welcome
message
Welcome to the Q4'17 edition of KPMG Enterprise's Venture
Pulse Report a quarterly report highlighting the key issues,
trends, and opportunities facing the VC market globally and in key
jurisdictions around the world.
A robust Q4'17 propelled total annual global VC funding to $155
billion, the highest tally of the decade. A number of billion-dollar
mega-deals over the course of the year, including six $1 billion+
rounds in Q4, drove the significant funding upswing. VC funding
was up year-over-year across all regions, including Asia, the
Americas and Europe.
Meanwhile, the number of deals continued to decline globally
during Q4'17, reflecting a shifting investor focus on quality over
quantity. Rather than invest in a myriad of different companies,
investors at all deal levels have leaned toward placing bigger bets
on a smaller group of companies they feel have the strongest path
to profitability/potential.
While the software sector continued to attract the bulk of VC
funding, the biotech and healthech sectors experienced strong
growth this year, with pharma & biotech companies alone raising
a record high of over $16 billion in VC funding globally.
Heading into 2018, the VC market is expected to remain robust,
particularly in areas such as AI, biotech, agtech and autotech.
With many companies choosing to stay private longer, 2018 is
also expected to bring an increase in secondary market activity in
order to provide some liquidity to early-stage investors. There is
also likely to be a modest increase in IPO activity, particularly in
biotech.
In this quarter's edition of the Venture Pulse Report, we examine
both annual and Q4'17 VC market trends, including:
The increase in deal size across all deal stages
The rapid upswing in healthtech and biotech
The growing focus on cross industry innovation and
applicability
The rapid evolution of France as an innovation center.
We hope you find this edition of the Venture Pulse Report
insightful. If you would like to discuss any of the results in more
detail, please contact a KPMG Enterprise adviser in your area.

KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG Internatio
l provides no client
services and is a S iss entity
ith hich the independent e ber fir s of the
netork are a filiated.
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Jonathan Lavender
Global Chairman,
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KPMG International
Brian Hughes
Co-Leader,
KPMG Enterprise
Innovative Startups
Network, KPMG
International, and Partner,
KPMG in the US
Arik Speier
Co-Leader,
KPMG Enterprise
Innovative Startups
Network, KPMG
International, and Partner,
KPMG in Israel
Contents
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global
Overall VC investment closes on a high, deal volume continues to fall
Year-over-year median deal size rises across all stages
Global median pre-money valuation for series D+ peaks at $275 million
for 2017
Corporate VC participation reaches 18.7%
Global volume for first-time venture financings plummets in 2017
6
Americas
Overall VC investment hits record high in Q4
Deal volume drops for the second consecutive quarter
2017 Series D+ median valuations spike to $250 million
Canadian venture deal volume plummets deal values remain strong
Venture financing in Brazil strengthens, powered in part by fintech
25
US
Strong Q4 propels annual investment to new high
2017 deal volume more resilient than Asia or Europe
Median pre-money valuations notch a new high for the decade
Corporate VC involved in $10+ billion for second consecutive quarter
Fundraising cycle signals it's ready for a slowdown
38
Europe
Venture investment reaches new highs with massive Q4
Angel/seed investment continues to plummet
Corporate VC participates in 21% of all deals a new high
UK leads the way with over $2.5 billion invested in Q4, highlighted by
Deliveroo's $482m
VC in France sees banner year
58
Asia
Q4 investment surpasses $15 billion
Year-over-year volume of angel/seed deals plummets
Corporate participation reaches over 30% for the year
India experiences seven transactions over $100 million in value in
2017
Government support, CVC and big tech investors push venture
financing in China to new levels in 2017
84
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#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Q4'17 summary
Deal volume declines gently as capital invested continues to climb
The final quarter of 2017 set a new quarterly high for total VC invested worldwide, at nearly $46 billion.
This sum comes close to Q3'15 and Q2'16 tallies, which saw $46.5 billion and $47 billion+,
respectively, yet also coincided with another slight decline in the total number of completed financings.
Accordingly, the strength of venture funding is still primarily exhibited by a concentration at the larger,
later stage of financings, which further implies the continued influence of the vast inflows of capital
committed to the venture asset class over the past few years.
The late-stage has never been more prominent, signaling a large proportion of mature, growth-
stage VC-backed companies that want to stay private
2017 has been marked by massive financings, many of them occurring in China. Yet, the yearly total
only further emphasizes how much of an effect gamechangers such as SoftBank's Vision Fund have
had, with over 70% of all VC invested in 2017 worldwide concentrated in rounds of $25 million or more.
In terms of transactional volume, such $25 million+ rounds are closing in on 10% of the global
market, which is an unprecedented portion.
Valuations close the year at a new high, due to competition and concentrated capital
Although concerns around the level of valuations persisted or became even more pronounced in 2017,
venture-backed companies still enjoyed one of the most lucrative climates in history, with the late-stage
driving an overall increase in median pre-money valuations to a new high for the decade. Although the
late-stage typically draws all the attention due to how eye-popping the checks can be, early-stage
valuations are also persisting at high or record levels, signifying that the entire capital stack of VC
funding has been affected by the sheer amount of money allocated to the class. Looking forward, at the
very least, a plateau in early-stage figures is to be expected on the bullish side, while it is possible that
numbers will begin to deflate slightly as investors and company founders alike re-center expectations.
Europe sees pronounced effects of VC inflation
Q4'17 saw the highest quarterly tally for VC invested in Europe-headquartered companies, just barely
outstripping Q3'15. Moreover, this occurred even as overall transaction volume slid for the third-straight
quarter. A more stark microcosm of global venture trends, Europe is still both benefiting and suffering
from a relatively more fragmented venture market. Certain metro areas are still hotspots of activity and
seeing higher and higher sums invested while round counts steady, yet other areas are seeing the
effects of round size and valuation inflation, with accompanying fewer financings.
Third-highest quarter of VC invested ever in Asia
Similarly to Europe, key metro areas in a few countries are powering the Asian region's overall venture
scene, with Beijing emerging as most prominent in 2017 by a sizable margin. Overall, $15.5 billion was
invested in Asia in Q4'17 alone, easily the third-highest tally ever, and once again owing primarily, to
mega-rounds. Three venture rounds of $1 billion or more were completed in Q4, all of China-based
companies, which speaks to the extent government-affiliated investment corporations (as well as
private corporations) are backing the nation's flourishing technology scene.
All currency amounts are in USD, unless otherwise specified, data provided by PitchBook.
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#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Q4'17 summary
Corporate participation signals the evolution of the VC industry
Over the past year, the percentage of global VC activity that had corporate venture capital (CVC)
participation rose to a new high, exceeding 18.7% in the final quarter of 2017. There are many reasons
for this historic level, ranging from younger technology corporations' desire to remain exposed to all
relevant innovations within their given fields of operation as well as older multinationals and industry
stalwarts finally spinning out supplemental R&D efforts into CVC arms in order to capitalize on
advances that are finally coming to fruition, such as autonomous vehicles. Yet, the primary effect is to
further render early-stage VC investing more sophisticated, as corporate players look to corner
promising advances or pave the way for merging down the road even earlier in company lifecycles.
The fundraising cycle begins to wind down
After climbing for 3 straight years in terms of capital raised, numbers of fundraising looks set to finally
decline by a significant margin in 2017. Although the $47 billion+ raised still outstrips past years to be
robust on a historical basis, volume is down by a more appreciable amount, with over 300 funds closed
as opposed to 400+, which the past 3 years each achieved. After such strong fundraising for years, it is
likely many large limited partners have met their desired private equity (including VC) allocations. It is
also worth noting that, especially at the early-stage, fundraising demands an ever more niche focus,
and there is simply a finite supply of general partners that can raise a fund solely dedicated to backing
AI-focused startups at the seed stage, for example.
Exit cycle subsides further
As the year closes, it is easier to place 2017 totals against full-year tallies from the past decade for
context and rely on quarterly figures for indications of momentum. For the third year in a row, exits
were down by both count and value, with the latter relatively more resilient, thanks to a still-strong,
matured M&A cycle. The key implications of an exit cycle's typical downtrend are various, however,
timing is especially critical, given the level of inflation seen in the current venture market. Public capital
markets will likely remain the best if not only option for many large, late-stage venture-backed
companies, such as Pinterest or Airbnb. However, there is still opportunity for M&A at significant scale,
given how persistently healthy that cycle has been. It remains to be seen whether 2018 will see a final
return to health for IPOs. It will remain a tenuous balance between how accessible private capital is for
embattled giants, and their need to finally achieve liquidity or further financing via traditional exits in the
year to come. The former will probably predominate, mainly because secondary markets for early
employees' and potentially investors' shares, as well as later rounds, are able to provide some forms of
liquidity and circumvent more common methods.
All currency amounts are in USD, unless otherwise specified, data provided by PitchBook.
Globally, in Q4'17
VC-backed
companies raised
$46B
across
2,662 deals
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#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global VC investment hits record annual high
A strong Q4'17 across the Americas, Asia, and Europe helped propel the global VC market to a record
high level of annual investment for 2017 of $155 billion. A number of multi-billion-dollar mega-deals during
the quarter buoyed investment levels despite the continuing decline in deals volume across all deal stages.
US dominates VC market globally
The United States continued to lead the VC market globally in Q4'17, accounting for well over $23 billion
of investment during the quarter, although both Asia and Europe had strong quarters of their own, with
$15 billion and $5 billion invested, respectively.
China sees largest VC deals of the quarter, mega-deals blossom worldwide
Asia saw the largest deals of the quarter, including $4 billion mega-deals to Chinese companies Didi-
Chuxing and Meituan-Dianping. AI-focused company Nio also raised $1 billion in Series D funding. The US
also accounted for three $1 billion+ funding rounds (i.e. Lyft, Grail, and Faraday Future), making this one of
the best quarters ever in terms of the number of $1 billion+ mega-deals.
VC market continues to see decline in number of angel and seed stage deals
During Q4'17, the volume of angel and seed stage deals continued to decline, highlighting a long-term
trend that began 3 years ago. Every major region of the world has been affected by this trend. The long-
term decline can be attributed partly to VC investors focusing on a smaller number of companies that they
feel have the best potential, although the decline in funding to software-as-a-service companies, also likely
had an influence.
Despite the declining number of angel and seed deals, median deal sizes for early deal stages continued to
be robust, suggesting that while fewer deals are occurring, the companies being funded are of high quality.
Aging unicorns, availability and size of late-stage funding signals companies are staying private
longer
This year, there were 93 fundings of current and newly minted unicorns (companies with a valuation over
$1 billion) created, exceeding the 77 fundings during 2016. At the same time, the average age of unicorn
companies rose to 8.8 years, a trend that highlights the propensity of late-stage companies remaining
private much longer as a result of the continued availability of late-stage funding. Given the relatively slow
IPO market globally and the availability of late-stage funding, it is no surprise that companies are staying
private as long as possible.
Uptick in secondary market activity providing much-needed liquidity
While companies are staying private longer, many of their investors still want exits. This has led to a more
robust secondary market in order to allow companies to provide liquidity to their employees and early-stage
investors. If the secondary market were to dry out, companies could be pressured to go public more
quickly. However, this is not expected to be a concern for companies over the next few quarters.
IPO activity remains weak in 2017
IPO activity globally remained relatively slow compared to previous years. While a number of companies
held successful IPOs in 2017, step-up valuations have been relatively slight. This suggests that the last
private valuation pre-IPO for some companies may have been inflated.
At the same time, the slight step-up valuations may simply suggest that more time is required before a
company's post-IPO performance can be truly evaluated. For example, Square's valuation 12 months post-
IPO was not significantly above its IPO price, but 2 years out, the valuation is now five times greater.
Watching the performance of companies which held IPOs during 2017, such as Okta and Snap, over the
next year, may provide a better indication of value.
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/beware-the-rise-of-the-zombiecorn
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/beware-the-rise-of-the-zombiecorn
8
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global VC investment hits record annual high,
cont'd.
Alternative financing mechanisms beginning to gain traction
2017 saw a significant increase in interest in alternative financing mechanisms, particularly Initial Coin
Offerings (ICOs). While cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin have been of some interest to investors over
the last couple of years, this year, there was a substantial increase in the number of ICOs which,
together, raised over $2 billion in capital.
The challenge with ICOs is that many financial regulators are still working to wrap their heads around
the value, benefits, risks and opportunities presented by ICOs. Over the next year, regulators will likely
begin to evaluate ICOs more actively. Based on the results of these analyses, there could be significant
positive or negative ramifications to current or future ICOs in various countries and regions.
Pharma & Biotech a big winner in 2017, poised for additional growth
Pharma & biotech investment experienced significant growth globally in 2017, reaching over $16 billion
in investment compared to $12.2 billion in 2016. Q4'17 saw the most successful quarter of biotech
funding yet, capped by US-based cancer-screening company Grail's $1.2 billion Series B funding
round. While the US accounted for the vast majority of all biotech investment, Europe also saw several
biotech focused mega-deals, including Switzerland-based ADC Therapeutics ($200 million) and
Germany-based CureVac's ($100 million), both in Q4'17. The general healthtech sector also saw a
record high level of investment in 2017, reaching over $4.5 billion in investment globally and 4.
Artificial intelligence experiences bumper year of investment
In 2017, VC investment in artificial intelligence almost doubled, attracting $12 billion of investment
globally, compared to $6 billion in 2016. Q4'17 saw a significant number of AI-focused VC deals,
including Nio ($1 billion), Face++ ($460 million), and Indigo ($206 million). As well, Didi-Chuxing,
China's top ride hailing company, raised $4 billion this quarter, in part to enhance their AI capabilities.
AI is expected to remain a hot area of investment given the widespread application AI offers across
industries, from autotech to fintech, robotics and healthtech5.
AR/VR also saw significant interest from investors globally throughout 2017. The definition of AR/VR
continued to expand over the course of the year, with mobile AR and computer vision/machine learning
(CV/ML) coming into their own as innovation opportunities.
Trends to watch for in 2018
Heading into 2018, the outlook for the global VC market is very positive. There are a number of
indications that some VC firms globally will raise larger global funds than they have in the past in order
to compete with the $100 billion Softbank Vision Fund6.
Areas such as healthtech, biotech, and autotech are expected to gain more attention from investors
over the next few quarters, while newer areas such foodtech and agtech are well-positioned to become
hot. In addition, 2018 is also poised to see a major increase in investor focus on cross-industry
solutions, such as the applicability of AI across sectors, and the use of technology to increase the
effectiveness and efficiency of less technology mature industries. Blockchain is also expected to
remain an investment priority.
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/4-trends-in-vc-healthtech-investment
4 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/vc-investment-in-biotech-blasts-through-10b-barrier-in-2017 and
https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/30/theres-an-implosion-of-early-stage-vc-funding-and-no-ones-talking-about-it/
5 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/rise-of-ai-excites-vc-investors-challenges-society and
https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/2017-year-in-review-the-top-vc-rounds-investors-in-ai
6 https://www.recode.net/2017/12/20/16804282/sequoia-raising-new-fund-6-billion-softbank
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#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global venture financing by stage
2010 Q4'17
The divergence between the number of completed venture financings and overall capital invested crested in
the final quarter of 2017, further emphasizes the ongoing effects of significant amounts of capital within the
overall VC ecosystem, with investor caution and required benchmarks on the rise as round sizes and
valuations remain stubbornly inflated.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17. Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Note: Refer to the Methodology section on page 103 to understand any possible data discrepancies between this edition and previous
editions of Venture Pulse.
VC invested & volume diverge even further
"The five largest VC mega-deals accounted for over $16 billion in funding in 2017. These
massive deals, combined with continued investor focus on investing more money in fewer
companies easily accounts for why the VC market has seen an up swell in investment despite a
sharp decline in the number of deals."
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
$35
$40
$45
$50
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
# of deals closed
Angel/Seed
Early VC
Later VC
Jonathan Lavender
Global Chairman, KPMG Enterprise, KPMG International
10
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global median deal size ($M) by stage
2010 2017*
Global up, flat or down rounds
2010 2017*
2017 marked either a continued or new high for median financing sizes across the board, reflecting how much
money is sloshing around in the underlying venture ecosystem.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Across all stages, underlying dry powder
reserves exert upward pressure
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.6
$0.8
$1.0
$2.5
$2.4
$2.1
$2.3
$2.8
$3.2
$3.7
$5.0
$5.5
$6.3
$6.0
$5.8
$7.5
$9.6
$9.5
$10.8
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Angel/seed
Early stage VC
Later stage VC
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Up
Flat
Down
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#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global median deal size ($M) by series
2010 2017*
Analyzing median tallies by series adds shades of nuance to investors' attitudes as well as strategies.
The fact Series D and later rounds have never seen a higher median financing size speaks volumes
about VCs' desires for exposure to costly, yet safer prospects, while the disparity between Series A and B
financings (in terms of size) suggests that distinct hurdles are most likely at that stage of development for
startups seeking financings.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
The latest stage resurges once more
$0.5
$0.5
$0.4
$0.4
$0.5
$0.6
$0.7
$1.0
$2.5
$2.8
$2.7
$3.0
$3.5
$4.1
$5.0
$6.0
$7.0
$7.2
$7.0
$7.0
$10.0
$12.0
$12.0
$14.5
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
$10.0
$12.0
$11.5
$12.0
$15.0
$20.0
$22.6
$25.0
$12.2
$14.9
$16.0
$16.0
$27.0
$35.0
$26.5
$40.0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
12
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global median pre-money valuation ($M) by series
2010 2017*
The narrative of a new class of large, mature, venture-backed companies opting to continue growth in the
private markets rather than embark on traditional avenues, such as IPOs, was even more pronounced in
2017. The numbers depict why: at close to $300 million, the median, pre-money valuation for Series D or
later financings has never been higher, and far outstrips any prior years. Such a sum is clearly driven by
outliers. However, the existence of such outliers speaks to how investors have been unprecedentedly willing
to fuel growth in private markets.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Outliers signify the trend of companies staying
private longer
$2.9
$3.3
$3.0
$3.1
$3.4
$4.0
$4.6
$5.5
$6.1
$7.0
$7.9
$8.6
$10.9
$12.8
$14.2
$15.9
$19.3
$20.5
$21.0
$25.0
$31.0
$38.8
$37.4
$42.6
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
$37.4
$46.0
$47.2
$53.1
$58.3
$75.0
$80.0
$92.4
$66
$83
$91
$97
$144
$184
$150
$275
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
13
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global deal share by series
2010 2017*, number of closed deals
Global deal share by series
2010 2017*, VC invested ($B)
Although reflected in figures for some time, as of late, there has been a resurgence in attention paid to the
decline in the volume of completed financings at the earliest of stages: angel and seed. The severity of the
decline is due partially to a time lag in tracking the sheer flow of angel deal flow. However, the larger
takeaway is that as the VC investing game has grown more sophisticated, the early-stage became too
pricey for many, while protracted liquidity only further disincentivized angel investors from maintaining the
same torrid pace as earlier in the decade. Accordingly, as is typical of investing cycles, the pace has slowed
markedly, in an expected manner.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
The early-stage slump: Crash or correction?
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
20102011201220132014201520162017*Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
$0.0
$20.0
$40.0
$60.0
$80.0
$100.0
$120.0
$140.0
20102011201220132014201520162017*Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
"Investors globally remain focused on late-stage companies with proven technologies and
markets, paying relatively high prices to reduce their risk of failure. It became more challenging
for early-stage companies to get the VC community's attention and funding a fact that will likely
impact the pipeline down the road."
Arik Speier
Co-Leader, KPMG Enterprise Innovative Startups Network, KPMG International and Partner,
Head of Technology, KPMG in Israel
14
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global financing trends to
VC-backed companies by sector
2013 2017*, number of closed deals
Global financing trends to
VC-backed companies by sector
2013 2017*, VC invested ($B)
As has been expected for some time, since much of the lowest-hanging fruit in pure software plays has
already been tackled, particularly on the consumer side, the proportions of relatively less popular (by deal
volume) sectors have been somewhat resilient, such as pharma & biotech or healthcare services, systems,
devices and supplies. Although the decline has impacted all, healthcare devices and supplies startups, for
example, will close the year at a proportion of 4%+ of all global VC activity, close to a full percentage point
increase year-over-year.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Software dominates, as diversity grows slightly
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20132014201520162017*Commercial
Services
Consumer
Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices
& Supplies
HC Services
& Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma &
Biotech
Software
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20132014201520162017*Commercial
Services
Consumer
Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices
& Supplies
HC
Services &
Systems
IT
Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma &
Biotech
Software
15
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Financing of VC-backed companies by continent
2013 2017*, number of closed deals
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
In time of caution, volume favors mature markets
64%
27%
9%
61%
28%
11%
60%
26%
14%
58%
27%
15%
65%
24%
11%
Americas
Europe
Asia Pacific
2017*
2016
2015
2014
2013
16
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
73%
17%
10%
66%
15%
19%
58%
13%
29%
56%
12%
32%
57%
12%
31%
Americas
Europe
Asia Pacific
Financing of VC-backed companies by continent
2013 2017*, VC invested ($B)
Asian growth caps off a highly impressive year
for sheer sums deployed
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
2017*
2016
2015
2014
2013
17
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Corporate VC participation in global venture deals
2010 Q4'17
Note: The capital invested is the sum of all the round values in which corporate venture capital investors participated, not the amount that
corporate venture capital arms invested themselves. Likewise, the percentage of deals is calculated by taking the number of rounds in which
corporate venture firms participated over total deals.
Ecosystems mutate slowly, yet it has been clear for some time now that the role CVCs play within the global
venture ecosystem has only grown more important and sizable over time. The significant ramp-up not only
in participation percentages but also associated deal value, is impacted highly by countries such as China
fostering massive financings of nascent tech enterprises in order to contribute to overall economic growth
and innovation, while multinational corporations are also staying engaged simply to shore up or augment
business lines.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Corporate VCs look set to remain highly active
after year of remarkable participation
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
20%
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
$35
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
% of total deal count
18
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global first-time venture financings of companies
2010 2017*
This year has been fraught with significant tensions in nearly every realm, ranging from worry over the
persistence of public market valuations to numerous policy changes. Accordingly, when it comes to the riskiest
of all ventures pledging capital in the first institutional round of funding for a nascent company it is of little
surprise that the pace of headier, prior years remains unmatched. That said, the staggering sums still invested
in such deals speaks to how deep the pockets of the venture industry currently are, as well as the emergence
of newer company models in buzzed-about verticals, such as autonomous vehicles, that can command plenty
of capital, even at the outset.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
Volume & VC invested remain off the pace of
prior years
$9
$12
$13
$12
$14
$20
$17
$13
3,786
5,054
5,941
6,693
7,316
6,668
5,223
3,813
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Capital invested ($B)
Deal count
19
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Q4'17 caps off a massive year with fourth-
highest sum of unicorn VC invested ever
Global unicorn rounds
2010 Q4'17
Note: PitchBook defines a unicorn venture financing as a VC round that generates a post-money valuation of $1 billion or more.
Unicorn financing trends are always going to be quite volatile. Having said that, it's highly telling that not
only did 2017 see a steadier clip in more quarters than all of 2016, but also experienced the strongest
consecutive 3 quarters of unicorn financing value ever.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
# of deals closed
20
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global venture-backed exit activity
2010 Q4'17
From 2014 through the end of 2016, venture-backed exit volume remained fairly elevated, even though
much of 2015 and 2016 saw a slow decline in momentum on a quarterly basis. Moreover, exit value stayed
historically healthy. However, since 2017 began, there has been a sharper tilt downward in exiting by VCs.
That is not yet cause for alarm, given that private markets and funds timelines are fairly prolonged.
However, what matters more in the year to come is whether the exit cycle winds down even further (by
both count and value) especially for the largest, late-stage private companies that will need to consider
liquidity concerns sooner rather than later.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Will the exit cycle subside further or plateau?
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Exit value ($B)
Exit count
21
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global venture-backed exit activity
(#) by type
2010 2017*
Global venture-backed exit activity
($B) by type
2010 2017*
The prospects of a small but highly publicized group of companies, such as Pinterest, Airbnb, Cloudera,
etc., to go public have rarely been hyped as much as they are going into 2018. It's worth noting, many
presumed 2017 would see more tech IPOs than the year ended up recording, as well. However, with
economic and consumer sentiment more bullish in the wake of a year in which so many macropolitical and
macroeconomic factors refused to slump and financial markets' bull run remained unabated, perhaps the
timing is more auspicious now.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Will the IPO window open further in 2018?
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017*
Strategic
Acquisition
Buyout
$0.0
$20.0
$40.0
$60.0
$80.0
$100.0
$120.0
$140.0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017*
Strategic Acquisition
Buyout
IPO
"2018 will likely build off the optimism that returned to the global and US VC market in 2017. We
will likely see more IPOs, more VC deals and cash coming back from overseas, which will likely
help drive M&A activity, share buyback and dividends, in addition to creating more liquidity in the
market. Barring an unexpected event, 2018 has the potential to be a strong year for VC."
Brian Hughes
Co-Leader, KPMG Enterprise Innovative Startups Network, KPMG International and
National Co-Lead Partner, KPMG Venture Capital Practice, KPMG in the US
22
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global venture fundraising
2010 Q4'17
In the back half of 2017, venture fundraising finally experienced a significant decline in both aggregate
capital committed, as well as volume of closed vehicles, after a very healthy period of nearly 3 years. Given
the recency of the decline and the fact that even the weaker tallies are not atypical on a historical basis, it is
clear the venture fundraising cycle is gently subsiding after a very bullish period, in a typical manner.
Investors in VC funds are likely drawing back as funds continue drawing down capital to maintain investing
in a pricey climate, and biding their time to see how returns play out.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Fundraising finally subsiding
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
$16
$18
$20
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital raised ($B)
# of funds raised
23
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Global venture fundraising (#) by size
2010 2017*
As the current boom market in the venture industry kicked off several years ago, it is clear that the earliest
successes for many VC firms paid off in even more successful fundraising efforts with larger vehicles down
the road, given the increasing concentration of activity in the middle of the market over the past 4 years.
The decline in the early-stage makes sense given the complexities of seed investing and investment
models in general growing more sophisticated at that stage.
Global first-time vs. follow-on venture
funds (#)
2010 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Prior successes have led to more fundraising
centered in the middle of the market
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
20102011201220132014201520162017*Under $50M
$50M-$100M
$100M-$250M
$250M-$500M $500M-$1B
$1B+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20102011201220132014201520162017*First-time
Follow-on
24
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
10
7
3
8 5
6
4
9
2
1
Top 10 global financings in Q4'17
Didi Chuxing $4,000M, Beijing
Transportation
Late-stage VC
Meituan-Dianping $4,000M, Beijing
E-commerce
Series C
Lyft $1,500M, San Francisco
Transportation
Series H
Grail (Biotechnology) $1,212M, Menlo
Park, CA
Biotechnology
Series B
Nio $1,000M, Shanghai
Transportation
Series D
7
8
6
9
10
5
4
3
2
1
Faraday Future $1,000M, Los Angeles
Transportation
Early-stage VC
Guazi.com $580M, Beijing
E-commerce
Series B
Hellobike $502M, Shanghai
Transportation
Series D
Magic Leap $502M, Plantation, FL
Application software
Series D
Compass $500M, New York
Real estate services
Late-stage VC
Q4'17 top deals split between China & US
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
In Q4'17 VC-backed
companies in the
Americas raised
$24.5B
across
1,858 deals
26
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
VC investment in the Americas gains strength
Overall investment trends in the Americas mirrored many of the trends seen in the US throughout
2017, although Canada, Mexico, and Brazil also saw unique VC trends given their different priorities.
VC funding in the Americas driven by the US
Total VC investment in the Americas reached a new high in 2017, buoyed by massive deals in the US,
including Q4'17 deals such as Lyft ($1.5 billion), Grail Technologies ($1.2 billion), Faraday Future ($1
billion), Magic Leap ($502 million), and Compass ($500 million).
As one of the more advanced markets for technology innovation, the US also saw the rapid maturation
of specific new technology sectors considered to be in their infancy in other regions. For example, while
ride-sharing continued to be a big play market during 2017, most US-based VC investments in ride-
sharing during the year revolved around dominant market players Uber and Lyft. The same could be
said for the food delivery market, in which a small number of companies have achieved economies of
scale, while others have fallen by the wayside.
Canada drives Americas' biggest VC deals outside of the US
Outside of deals conducted in the US, Canada accounted for the biggest VC deals in the Americas this
quarter, raising over $435 million, including a $166 million round by e-commerce company Lightspeed
POS, a $50 million round by infrastructure platform provider Loraxian, and a $49 million round by
storytelling app Wattpad. In Canada, foreign VC investment, primarily from the US, continued to
outpace investment by domestic VC firms.
While both the amount of VC investment and the number of VC deals declined quarter-over-quarter in
Canada, the average deal size rose somewhat. Unlike in the US, where the proportion of early-stage
deals declined compared to other deal stages, in Canada, early-stage deals accounted for the highest
percentage of total deals since 2009.
Information and communications (ICT) sector continues to spur Canada's innovation
ecosystem
The ICT sector continued to be a key driver behind Canada's technology ecosystem in 2017, attracting
a significant amount of investor attention. At a technology level, Artificial Intelligence was a clear area
of investor interest, in addition to software-as-a-service solutions and healthtech. Innovation hubs in
Toronto and Vancouver saw the majority of VC investment during the year, although Quebec attracted
its highest proportion of VC deals since 2011. This likely reflects the increasing importance being
placed on Montreal as a major technology hub.
Canadian government strongly supporting innovation
The Canadian government remained committed to further developing Canada's VC market and
innovation ecosystems throughout 20177. The government announced a Venture Capital Catalyst
Initiative earlier in the year, which is expected to be implemented in the near future. This program
commits $400 million over 3 years through the Business Development Bank of Canada to increase
last-stage VC available to Canadian companies. The government also announced $125 million in
funding for a Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy to help cement Canada's position as a global
leader in the field.
VC investors in Canada remain concerned about a number of uncertainties heading into 2018,
including the impact of the US tax reform bill, expected Canadian tax changes, and the ongoing NAFTA
renegotiation process.
7 https://www.itbusiness.ca/news/venture-capital-catalyst-initiative-expected-to-fuel-canadas-innovation-capital-market-by-1-5b/97641
27
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
VC investment in the Americas gains strength,
cont'd.
Brazil sees massive increase in VC funding during Q4'17
After a very weak Q3'17, Brazil saw a massive uptick in VC investment, with $233 million invested
during the fourth quarter. Several large deals led this funding spike, including mobile market place
Movile ($82 million), personal finance platform GuiaBolso ($39 million) and secure lending platform
Creditas ($50 million). Fintech is a clear driver of VC investment in Brazil8.
On a year-over-year basis, VC investment in Brazil rose significantly, from $392 million in 2016 to over
$575 million this year. While US investors have pulled back from Latin America9, Chinese investors,
particularly China's big tech giants, have been increasingly interested in both Brazil and the broader
Latin America region. For example, Alibaba recently announced a program to share logistics and
payment best practices with companies in Mexico.
VC investment in Mexico falls off a cliff in Q4
VC investment in Mexico dropped for the second straight quarter in Q4'17. Despite the decreasing
levels of VC investment, optimism remains high for future VC investment in the country, particularly in
fintech, given Mexico's large unbanked and underbanked populations. Currently, over 300 fintech
companies are operating in Mexico. Of these, more than 120 have incorporated over the last year.
While much of the VC interest in Mexico has come from the US to-date, there has also been increasing
interest from Asia and Europe based VC investors. If this interest begins to bear fruit in terms of
investment dollars, the VC market in Mexico could see an upswing over the next year or 2.
Trends to watch for in 2018
In 2018, VC investment in the Americas is expected to grow. In the US and Canada, healthtech,
biotech and agtech are expected to be key areas of investment, in addition to blockchain and AI. In
Brazil and Latin America, there is likely to be continued interest in fintech, from payments to
microlending and small business financing.
8 https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/12/brazilian-startup-creditas-is-revolutionizing-credit-in-the-worlds-third-largest-lending-market/ and
https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/15/corporate-venture-in-brazil-gains-steam-as-giants-amp-up-startup-investments/
9 https://venturebeat.com/2017/12/17/chinese-investors-target-latin-american-startups-as-u-s-vcs-shy-away/
28
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in the Americas
2010 Q4'17
Even with all additional data intakes accounted, it is clear there was a mild decline between Q2 and Q3 in
2017 in terms of volume in the Americas and, as of now, an even steeper decrease between Q3 and the
final quarter of the year. Paired with such lofty quarterly tallies of VC invested, it is clear the late-stage
boom has yet to end, with massive streams of VC still flowing to fund the growth of mature tech companies.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Volume takes a turn down in a rich climate
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
$30
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
# of deals closed
Angel/Seed
Early VC
Later VC
29
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median deal size ($M) by stage in the Americas
2010 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Up, flat or down rounds in Americas
2010 2017*
Up rounds & capital invested on the upswing
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.6
$0.7
$0.9
$1.0
$2.7
$2.7
$2.7
$3.0
$3.3
$4.0
$5.0
$6.0
$6.0
$7.5
$7.3
$6.5
$8.7
$10.0
$10.0
$11.2
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Angel/seed
Early stage VC
Later stage VC
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Down
Flat
Up
30
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.7
$0.8
$1.0
$2.4
$2.5
$2.7
$3.1
$3.5
$4.2
$5.0
$6.0
$7.0
$7.1
$7.0
$7.0
$10.0
$11.1
$11.9
$13.9
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Median deal size ($M) by series in the Americas
2010 2017*
Venture industry dynamics remain marked by high prices, with median deal metrics still remaining at an
elevated level across all series, although the pace of growth is unequal. Moreover, it is worth pointing out
just how high the latest-stage rounds have reached in 2017 to-date.
Early-stage still sees steady growth
$10.0
$12.0
$11.6
$12.0
$14.5
$17.0
$21.2
$21.5
$12.0
$14.8
$16.0
$16.0
$25.5
$30.0
$25.0
$34.8
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
31
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median pre-money valuation ($M) by series in the Americas
2010 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Although the degree of growth varies considerably, every single financing series in the Americas closed 2017
at a new high, most dramatically the latest and largest cluster of Series D or later. The sheer heft of dry
powder, as well as investors' willingness to cut deals with large, mature companies, continues to tell.
Every series closes 2017 on a high note
$3.2
$3.9
$3.6
$4.0
$4.5
$5.0
$5.7
$6.0
$6
$7
$8
$9
$11
$13
$15
$16
$20
$21
$21
$25
$31
$39
$37
$42
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
$38
$46
$46
$55
$56
$70
$80
$90
$66
$84
$91
$97
$138
$165
$135
$250
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
32
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Deal share by series in the Americas
2014 2017*, number of closed deals
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Deal share by series in the Americas
2014 2017*, VC invested ($B)
Series B and onward staying strong in 2017
The capital stack is contracting somewhat at the earliest of stages after a multi-year period of exuberance,
with only financing series from B and onward seeing volume, resembling those of 2016. Although not a
single class of transaction is likely to reach the highs seen in 2014 or 2015, the eventual contraction of the
earliest stage will transform later-stage volume down the road.
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
2014201520162017*Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
$0.0
$10.0
$20.0
$30.0
$40.0
$50.0
$60.0
$70.0
$80.0
2014201520162017*Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
33
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing of VC-backed companies by sector in the Americas
2010 2017*, VC invested ($B)
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Venture financing of VC-backed companies by sector in the Americas
2010 2017*, # of closed deals
Pockets of healthcare finish strong
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
20102011201220132014201520162017*Commercial
Services
Consumer Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices &
Supplies
HC Services &
Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma & Biotech
Software
$0.0
$10.0
$20.0
$30.0
$40.0
$50.0
$60.0
$70.0
$80.0
$90.0
$100.0
20102011201220132014201520162017*Commercial
Services
Consumer Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices &
Supplies
HC Services &
Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma & Biotech
Software
34
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Canada
2012 Q4'17
Since the middle of 2016, VC activity has been healthy within the Canadian ecosystem, with outlier
quarters of VC invested. The final quarter of 2017 saw a steep downturn in volume, yet as VC invested still
neared $500 million, it is clear the nation can still attract plenty of investor interest.
2017 sees second-highest year for VC invested
"Canada continues to provide a strong base for VC investment thanks, to its stable economy, low
interest rates and top-notch innovation hubs. A very active incubator system has helped spur
early-stage VC investment activity, although later-stage funding can be challenging, making it
difficult for some companies to achieve scale."
Sunil Mistry
Partner, KPMG Enterprise, Technology, Media and Telecommunications,
KPMG in Canada
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
$0.0
$100.0
$200.0
$300.0
$400.0
$500.0
$600.0
$700.0
$800.0
$900.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
35
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Mexico
2012 Q4'17
The volume of completed venture financings in Mexico in 2017 fell far below the levels achieved in the
4 prior years. However, as the aggregate tally of VC invested just barely overtopped $100 million, it is
clear there is still appetite for funding Mexican startups. Macropolitical factors clouded investment
landscapes across international borders for much of 2017, so if sentiment becomes more positive, then
the Mexican venture scene could pick up.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Amid a decline in volume, VC invested is strong
0
5
10
15
20
25
$0.0
$10.0
$20.0
$30.0
$40.0
$50.0
$60.0
$70.0
$80.0
$90.0
$100.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
"VC investment in Mexico declined significantly early in 2017 as a result of shifting trade policies
in the United States. Over the second half of the year, investment rebounded somewhat,
particularly in the fintech space, with many fintechs focused on providing services to the large
percentage of unbanked and underbanked people in the country. This slow rebound is expected
to continue heading into the first quarter of 2018"
Gerardo Rojas
Partner,
KPMG in Mexico
36
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Brazil
2012 Q4'17
The Brazilian venture scene in 2017 enjoyed a boost from two companies' success: 99's massive $200
million funding in May and Movile's fundraising of multimillion-dollar rounds in June and December. It
looks unlikely that Brazil's key arenas of consumer-focused fintech, commerce and transportation will
cease to be of interest to venture firms in the year to come, so as the nation's political and economic
fortunes stabilize, impacting consumer spending, there could be an upswing in 2018.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
All in all a quieter 2017, with B2C the focus
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
$0.0
$50.0
$100.0
$150.0
$200.0
$250.0
$300.0
$350.0
$400.0
$450.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
37
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
The coasts in the US close off 2017 strong,
accounting for most mega-deals
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
10
7
6
3
8
5
4
9
2
1
Lyft $1,500M, San Francisco
Transportation
Series H
Grail (Biotechnology) $1,212M,
Menlo Park, CA
Biotechnology
Series B
Faraday Future $1,000M, Los
Angeles
Transportation
Early-stage VC
Magic Leap $502M, Plantation, FL
Application software
Series D
Compass $500M, New York
Real estate services
Late-stage VC
7
8
6
9
10
5
4
3
2
1
SpaceX $450M, Hawthorne, CA
Aerospace
Series H
Essential Products $300M, Palo Alto, CA
Electronics (B2C)
Series B
Ginkgo Bioworks $275M, Boston
Biotechnology
Series D
Harmony Biosciences $270M, Plymouth
Meeting, PA
Biotechnology
Early-stage VC
Via (Carpooling) $250M, New York
Transportation
Late-stage VC
In Q4'17 US
VC-backed
companies raised
$23.75B
across
1,778 deals
39
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
US VC investment achieves new high in 2017
In 2017, VC investment in the United States soared past the $83 billion mark, making it the strongest
year of VC investment ever. Despite rising investment, deals volume plummeted as investors focused
on placing bigger bets on a smaller number of companies.
Q4'17 results lifted by three $1 billion+ mega-deals
In Q4'17, three US-based companies raised $1 billion+ funding rounds, including ride-hailing company
Lyft ($1.5 billion), cancer-screening biotech Grail Technology ($1.2 billion), and automotive financing
company Faraday Future ($1 billion). The US also saw numerous additional $100 million+ rounds, with
the top 10 deals in the country accounting for over a quarter of the total investment during Q4'17.
Investors remain focused on late-stage deals
In the US, VC investors focused on late-stage deals throughout 2017. While earlier in the year this
trend was attributed primarily to investors de-risking their portfolios, the ongoing lack of exit activity has
no doubt also become a contributing factor. As companies continued to choose to stay private longer,
VC investors stepped in to bridge the gap.
With late-stage deals given priority, the number of deals at other funding levels have taken a significant
hit. The decline in seed deals has been the most prominent, with the percentage of seed deals as a
part of all deals during 2017 dropping to less than 30% compared to the 40% to 50% seen in previous
years. Predictably, given the decline in seed deals, the number of first time financings in the US also
declined, most notably in Q4'17.
While deal count has dropped, the size of seed and Series A deals has increased rapidly. Investors
appear to be moving further downstream, making bigger investments into early-stage companies and
turning some seed deals into Series A deals.
Secondary market providing much liquidity
With companies staying private longer, there has been growing pressure on US companies to provide
liquidity opportunities to founders, employees and early-stage investors. As a result, there has been a
significant increase in secondary market activity to fund liquidity opportunities and lessen the pressure
to exit. Should the secondary market slow, the pressure to exit could return.
Decline in step up valuations
While the median valuation size of VC deals continued to increase during Q4'17, step-up valuations
between companies' last private financings and their initial public offering valuations have been lower
than historical norms. This suggests that the private sector valuations of some companies that went
public during the year were likely inflated. Although, the low step-up valuations could also simply reflect
that companies have not been public long enough to truly show their value. It will be important to watch
how companies like Snap, Okta and Delivery Hero perform over the next few quarters to gain a better
sense of post-IPO valuation trends10.
Healthtech and biotech see strong growth in the US to close out 2017
Venture capital and corporate investor interest in healthtech and biotech grew significantly over the
course of 2017, as demonstrated by several large deals in Q4'17, including Grail Technology's $1.2
billion Series B funding round and Harmony Biosciences' $270 million raise. Healthtech companies
also topped the charts in terms of exits. The increase in exit activity has helped to spur more activity
overall. Interest and investment in both outcomes-based healthtech and biotech are expected to remain
hot well into 2018 given the aging population in the US and the increasing focus on prevention and
lifestyle monitoring11.
10 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/the-private-for-longer-effect-step-up-valuations-at-ipo-declining-for-us-vc-backed-companies
11 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/4-trends-in-vc-healthtech-investment
40
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
US VC investment achieves new high in 2017,
cont'd.
This focus is only poised to grow given the size of the market and rising healthcare costs. Healthcare
administration itself is also a massive industry ripe for disruption, with medical organizations hindered
by legacy processes and systems and patients demanding greater access to their personal health and
treatment information.
Corporates becoming more interested in transformative agtech
Agtech investment, particularly by corporates, grew significantly during 2017, reaching well above $600
million for the year. Interest in agtech is expected to grow in 2018, both in terms of technology-enabled
marketplaces for the agriculture sector, and technology aimed at improving the effectiveness or
sustainability of agriculture-related activities12.
Corporate VCs have primarily focused on the latter case, seeing synergistic opportunities to increase
the effectiveness of their operations or extend their product reach.
Trends to watch for in 2018
2018 is expected to build off the optimism that returned to the US VC market during 2017. The newly
passed tax reform legislation is expected to have a positive impact on VC investment, and could draw
capital back from overseas. This could have a resonating impact on M&A and drive more liquidity.
The outlook for IPO activity in the early part of 2018 is also positive, particularly for companies in the
life sciences and biotech markets, given the significant momentum these industries have gained over
the last 12 months.
VC investor interest is also expected to strengthen as it relates to technologies such as, artificial
intelligence, which have strong cross-industry applicability13. Blockchain investment is also expected to
grow as VC investors recognize the opportunities blockchain presents in terms of making industries
and verticals more efficient.
12 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/agtech-a-cvc-case-study
13 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/ai-is-replacing-software-a-look-at-the-industrys-unrelenting-rise
41
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in the US
2010 Q4'17
After a somewhat lower start to the year, the next 3 quarters of 2017 saw no less than $20 billion or more
invested apiece, in an unprecedented run of largesse. Although the first 3 quarters of 2015 came close, Q1
fell just short. Such a massive tally of VC invested speaks not only to the ongoing impact of the unicorn
population, but also the fact investors have now become more accustomed to such a lofty climate.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Three straight quarters of $20B+
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
# of deals closed
Angel/Seed
Early VC
Later VC
42
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median deal size ($M) by stage in the US
2010 2017*
Up, flat or down rounds in the US
2010 2017*
2017 has recorded higher figures for median deal size across all stages than any other year this decade. The
question moving into 2018 is whether the rate of increase is leveling off, sustaining at that admittedly elevated
plateau. It is likeliest figures will maintain more than anything, as there are few clear drivers for an increase.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
The new normal has been fully priced in
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.6
$0.8
$0.9
$1.0
$2.6
$2.7
$2.8
$3.0
$3.4
$4.4
$5.0
$6.0
$6.0
$7.6
$7.4
$6.8
$9.0
$10.1
$10.0
$11.4
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Angel/seed
Early stage VC
Later stage VC
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Down
Flat
Up
43
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median deal size ($M) by series in the US
2010 2017*
Note: Figures rounded in some cases for legibility.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Latest stage soars high once again
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.7
$0.8
$1.0
$2.4
$2.5
$2.8
$3.1
$3.5
$4.3
$5.0
$6.1
$7
$7
$7
$7
$10
$11
$12
$14
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
$10
$12
$12
$12
$14
$17
$21
$22
$12
$15
$16
$16
$25
$30
$25
$34
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
44
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median pre-money valuation ($M) by series in the US
2010 2017*
Note: Figures rounded in some cases for legibility.
Across the board, every single series notched a new high for the decade in terms of median, pre-money
valuations. Especially when analyzing a single country's tallies, it is clear the US unicorn population is
skewing the Series D or later category, but across the entire capital stack, valuations inched up higher. It
is telling, however, that the rate of increase at the earliest level has been trending slower as of late,
perhaps signifying a plateau to come.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Valuations close a historic year
$3
$4
$4
$4
$5
$5
$6
$6
$6
$7
$8
$9
$11
$13
$15
$16
$19
$21
$21
$25
$31
$39
$37
$42
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
$37
$47
$46
$55
$57
$70
$79
$90
$66
$84
$91
$97
$138
$164
$135
$250
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
45
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Deal share by series in the US
2017*, VC invested ($B)
Deal share by series in the US
2017*, number of closed deals
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/17. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
The capital stack contracts at earlier stages
Deal share by series in the US
2016, VC invested ($B)
Deal share by series in the US
2016, number of closed deals
54.1%
23.9%
11.6%
5.9%
4.5%
Angel/seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
57.1%
22.8%
10.6%
5.2%
4.2%
9.1%
20.0%
19.2%
19.0%
32.7%
8.5%
20.3%
22.6%
16.2%
32.5%
Angel/seed
Series A
Series B
Series C
Series D+
46
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing by sector in the US
2014 2017*, number of closed deals
Venture financing by sector in the US
2014 2017*, VC invested ($B)
Going all the way back to 2006, there has never been another year to see as much VC invested in the
pharma & biotech scene as 2017, with a truly mammoth $12 billion+ deployed by venture investors within
the space. Although skewed significantly by the massive $1.2 billion financing of Grail in late November,
finally closing after an initial tranche announced in March, it is clear that investors are keen to back the
most promising ventures in the drug treatment ecosystem.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Pharma & biotech hit a record $12B+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2014201520162017*Commercial
Services
Consumer
Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices
& Supplies
HC Services
& Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma &
Biotech
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2014201520162017*"VC investment in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals boomed in 2017, particularly in the US
where Grail Technologies and Harmony Biosciences both had significant rounds in Q4. 2018 is
expected to bring continued growth in the space, with strong IPOs projected to bring in premium
valuations and therefore additional investments across deal stages"
Janet Lehman
Partner in Charge, New England Clinical Life Science Practice, KPMG in the US
47
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Corporate participation in venture deals in the US
2010 Q4'17
For the first time ever, corporate venture arms participated in venture financings summing to more than
$10 billion in value in back-to-back quarters to close off 2017. Testifying to a continued late-stage focus on
the part of many, but also, given their related proportion of overall venture activity, a greater focus on
expanding their investment purviews, it is clear CVCs aren't going anywhere as 2018 kicks off.
CVCs participate in another $10B+ quarter
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
2%
4%
6%
8%
10%
12%
14%
16%
18%
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
% of total deal count
48
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
First-time venture financings of companies in the US
2010 2017*
VCs remained quite selective in 2017, although the amount of capital committed to their coffers they are
willing to dispense to even first-time enterprises remained lofty. 2017 will go down as one of the most
lucrative years on record, even as the tally of first-time financings slumped to the lowest level since 2010.
VC invested outpaces 2016 to match second-
highest tally yet, even as volume steadies
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
$4.6
$6.3
$7.1
$6.9
$7.6
$8.8
$7.2
$7.9
2,046
2,756
3,242
3,501
3,714
3,422
2,645
2,364
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Capital invested ($B)
Deal count
49
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture-backed exit activity in the US
2010 Q4'17
It's clear that 2017 marked another down year for exit volume in the US. VCs have already taken advantage of
the massive M&A cycle that characterized the past few years, and the IPO window has yet to reopen to the
extent seen in past years. Accordingly, in this maturing exit cycle, it's clear that timing will become ever more
crucial for investors looking for liquidity, although given the positivity of macro factors in the US it is likely the
subsiding exit cycle will be quite prolonged.
A lucrative year even as selling contracts in
count
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
$31.6 $34.2 $55.7 $37.2 $80.3 $49.6 $52.9 $51.0
698
738
867
891
1,065
1,003
857
769
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Exit value ($B)
Exit count
50
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture-backed exit activity (#) by
type in the US
2010 2017*
Venture-backed exit activity ($B)
by type in the US
2010 2017*
The bullish case for M&A as a source of liquidity for venture-backed companies in the US in 2018 is quite
strong. Economic growth and consumer sentiment remain on the upswing, stock prices are remarkably high,
and corporates hoard plenty of cash still. Moreover, many enterprises are still anxious to stay abreast of the
clearly critical yet slowly moving fields of automated commerce, or to consolidate further in hard-pressed
industries, such as healthcare services.
As IPOs remain a question, M&A remains popular
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
Strategic Acquisition
Buyout
IPO
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90
Strategic Acquisition
Buyout
IPO
51
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Software, pharma & biotech were most popular
Venture-backed exit activity ($B) by sector in the US
2010 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
Venture-backed exit activity (#) by sector in the US
2010 2017*
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Commercial
Services
Consumer Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices &
Supplies
HC Services &
Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma & Biotech
Software
$0
$10
$20
$30
$40
$50
$60
$70
$80
$90
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Commercial
Services
Consumer Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices &
Supplies
HC Services &
Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma & Biotech
Software
52
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
US venture fundraising
2010 Q4'17
Unless most venture fundraisers simply took a longer vacation than normal, it's likely that the fundraising
cycle is signaling that it is ready for a slowdown. There haven't been back-to-back quarters of sub-40 funds
closed since 2011, while the aggregate sums raised in the back half were much lower than any seen in the
prior 3 years.
The fundraising cycle's latest figures signal a
slowdown
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital raised ($B)
# of funds raised
53
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture fundraising (#) by size in
the US
2010 2017*
The shakeout in early-stage investing, wherein figures have declined for some time in a telling testimony to
how difficult that high-risk arena is, also is reflected in fundraising tallies. Anecdotally, any manager looking to
raise a seed fund these days simply needs a niche focus and demonstrated edge in a sector, usually, which
are tough prerequisites to fill. Accordingly, volume is concentrated in the middle of the market for now.
First-time vs. follow-on venture funds
(#) in the US
2010 2017*
The early-stage slump affects fundraising
prospects
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20102011201220132014201520162017*Under $50M
$50M-$100M
$100M-$250M
$250M-$500M $500M-$1B
$1B+
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
20102011201220132014201520162017*First-time
Follow-on
54
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
But some VCs are successful in spinning out
and raising their own funds nowadays
Venture fundraising ($B) by size in
the US
2010 2017*
First-time vs. follow-on funds ($B)
in the US
2010 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20102011201220132014201520162017*Under $50M
$50M-$100M
$100M-$250M
$250M-$500M $500M-$1B
$1B+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20102011201220132014201520162017*First-time
Follow-on
55
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Geographic diversification becoming more
worthwhile as prices remain high
US venture activity (#) by US region
2014 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017*West Coast
Southeast
South
Other Territory
New England
Mountain
Midwest
Mid-Atlantic
Great Lakes
56
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
US venture-backed IPO activity
2010 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
With 2017 in the rear-view mirror, it is clear that the IPO route remained much less popular than others. Still,
some companies were able to experience stronger or at least stabler performance than expected, while the
most prominent, such as Snap or Blue Apron, fizzled. However, one of the more pressing issues to keep an
eye on is whether, encouraged by generally positive economic and market factors, more venture-backed
unicorns brave the public markets in 2018.
Slight uptick in IPOs setting stage for 2018?
$3.6
$5.7
$21.5
$9.1
$10.6
$8.5
$2.9
$9.9
40
45
61
88
124
77
41
58
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Total capital raised ($B)
IPO (#)
"While there is no indication that we will return to the level of IPO activity we saw in 2015, there is
a likelihood that 2018 will see an increased number of IPOs. However, the secondary market is
poised to see even greater growth as many companies choose to remain private for longer."
Conor Moore
National Co-Lead Partner, KPMG Venture Capital Practice, KPMG in the US
57
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Select venture-backed US companies that went public in 2017 by offering size ($M)
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Company name
Offering
Last VC
Market
HQ city
Industry group
size ($M)
financing post-
capitalization
valuation ($M)
($M)
Los Angeles,
Application
Snap
$3,400
$16,270
$17,590
CA
software
Blue Apron
$586.5
$2,000
$766.3
New York, NY
Food products
Wireless
Roku
$252.3
$992.3
$5,070
Los Gatos, CA Communications
Equipment
Database
Cloudera
$225
$4,110
$2,330
Palo Alto, CA
software
Network
San Francisco,
Okta
$187
$1,180
$2,610
management
CA
software
Cambridge,
CarGurus
$150.4
$1,010
$2,330
Automotive
MA
Rhythm
$137.8
$80.7
$762.3
Boston, MA
Biotechnology
Pharmaceuticals
G1 Therapeutics
$116.7
$215
$543.1
Durham, NC
Biotechnology
2017 IPOs ended up as a mixed bag
Showcasing a selection of venture-backed IPOs in the US in 2017 is instructive, as it illustrates how it wasn't
so much that no company could go public and do well, but that the public markets are still not nearly as
forgiving as private markets have been. Blue Apron's IPO fizzled significantly, while Roku and Okta, and
especially CarGurus, ended up performing decently relative to their last VC post-valuations. Helping boost
overall IPOs completed, pharma & biotech companies went public at a decent clip, with Rhythm
Pharmaceuticals finally completing an IPO after canceling initial plans three or so years ago.
In Q4'17 European
VC-backed
companies raised
$5.7B
across
535 deals
59
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
European VC funding up significantly in 2017,
falls shy of 2015 peak
VC investment in Europe remained strong in Q4'17, bringing the total annual investment in the region
to record levels, despite an ongoing decline in deal volume. Companies in the UK raised the lion's
share of investment during Q4'17, accounting for seven of the top 10 European deals.
Median deal sizes up in Europe across all deal stages
VC investors in Europe continued to focus on quality over quantity in Q4'17, providing a smaller group
of companies with more funding rather than investing in numerous opportunities. A look at median deal
sizes shows the magnitude of this trend, with numbers up across all deal stages. Late-stage VC saw
the largest increase, with a median deal size of $6.2 million in 201714.
Pharma & Biotech booming in Europe
Pharma & biotech attracted a significant amount of attention in Europe during Q4'17, with Switzerland-
based ADC Therapeutics raising $200 million and Germany-based CureVac raising $100 million. On an
annualized basis, investment in pharma & biotech was also up significantly in Europe, reaching a
record high $2.37 billion. In addition to these large deals, there was a considerable amount of biotech
investment in the UK, where biotech hubs have formed around Cambridge and Oxford15.
US investors targeting European VC market
Following a drop-off in activity during 2016, the participation of US-based investors in European VC deals
rose dramatically in 2017. During the year, US investors participated in 17.1% of European VC deals, up
from 13% in 2016. The increase in US investor activity can attributed partly to the growing maturity of
Europe-based technology companies seeking out later stage funding. Bigger deal opportunities have been
particularly attractive to US investors, which has also helped increase their participation.
VC investment rises significantly in Germany
Despite a continued decline in the number of VC deals, VC investment in Germany increased year-
over-year, with VC investors focusing on providing more money to a smaller number of high-quality
companies rather than investing in numerous opportunities. This shift in focus has both helped
investors to de-risk their portfolios and reduce the high transaction costs associated with making
numerous deals.
Corporate participation in the German VC market also expanded over the course of 2017, with
corporate venture capital not only acting as limited partners in deals or as contributors to VC funds, but
some also working to set up their own VC funds.
While biotech company CureVac's $100 million raise was Germany's largest deal this quarter, fintech
and autotech were also strong areas of investment, particularly for corporates. For example, smaller
banks began to follow the lead of their larger competitors by setting up VC funds to invest in fintech.
Meanwhile, automotive giants such as Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen have increasingly invested in
startups in order stay on top of industry changes. Heading into 2018, each of these areas is expected to
remain attractive, while areas such as blockchain and cryptocurrencies are also expected to see growth.
14 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/the-state-of-vc-in-europe-and-israel-in-11-charts
15 https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/vc-investment-in-biotech-blasts-through-10b-barrier-in-2017
60
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
European VC finding up significantly in 2017, falls
shy of 2015 peak, cont'd.
UK sees massive increase in VC investment in Q4'17
VC investment in the UK achieved a record high in Q4'17, with seven deals attracting $100 million+
mega-rounds, including Deliveroo ($482 million), Truphone ($336 million), TransferWise ($280 million),
OakNorth ($203 million), The Ink Factory ($180 million), Orchard Therapeutics ($112 million) and
SecretEscapes ($109 million).
This increase in VC investment was somewhat noteworthy given the level of economic uncertainty in
the UK this year. The depreciation of the British Pound may have driven some value-play investments,
while the number of late-stage deals likely reflects the commitment of VC investors to established
companies in their portfolios.
The UK government's firm support for innovation has no doubt also helped retain VC investor attention.
In its recent budget16, the UK government announced the creation of specific funds to support startup
and scale-up opportunities, including 75 million for AI and 400 million for electric car charging points.
During Q4'17, fintech was a major area of investment in the UK. In addition to TransferWise and
OakNorth, Monzo, WorldRemit, and Salary Finance also raised significant funding during the quarter.
France growing in importance*
Over the past 12 months, France has become an increasingly important player in the overall VC market
in Europe, with VC investments primarily focused on healthtech, biotech, and artificial intelligence.
While total VC investment in France paled in comparison to the UK, the country hosted a greater
number of deals, particularly at the earliest deal stages. France's innovation ecosystem is expected to
continue to thrive heading into 2018, propelled by the recent opening of the Station F startup campus
and the Macron government's strong commitment to supporting innovation. La French Tech has also
continued to expand its global reach and to support France attractiveness. It recently implemented the
"French Tech Visa", a simplified and accelerated procedure to welcome foreign entrepreneurs and
facilitate their business development in France.17
Israel continues to attract global attention
Corporates continued to pour direct and indirect investments into Israel during Q4'17 in the wake of
Intel's acquisition of Mobileye earlier this year. M&A activity also continued apace, particularly in
autotech, where Germany-based Continental acquired autotech cybersecurity company Argus Security
for $360 million, and US-based Lear Corp. acquired GPS technology developer EXO Technologies for
$50 million.
Trends to watch for in 2018
VC investment in Europe is expected to continue to thrive in 2018. The implementation of PSD2 is
expected to have a strong influence on investment patterns within fintech, particularly in Europe, as
companies look to take advantage of the new regulations and requirements. In addition to fintech,
healthtech, autotech and agtech are also expected to gain additional traction from VC investors.
* See page 78 for a deep dive on VC investment in France
16 https://medium.com/@Momentum_London/autumn-budget-2017-what-it-means-for-tech-and-startups-7fceac9837e6
17 https://visa.lafrenchtech.com/
61
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Europe
2010 Q4'17
Even as venture financing contracts in volume in Europe, the sums invested keep piling up. Still aided
significantly by hefty financings such as those of Deliveroo's $482 million Series F in November, the
European venture scene is unlikely to see such totals slump anytime soon, even as activity normalizes to
more typical historical levels.
Europe set to match most VC invested in a single
year, ever
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
"Rather than spreading their investments more broadly, investors in European companies have
also chosen to continue to back later stage companies. This is enabling companies to remain
private longer but supporting them with the capital they need to compete at a very large scale. A
case in point is UK based Deliveroo securing a major investment in Q4, pitching it squarely
against its publically listed competitor Just Eat."
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
# of deals closed
Angel/Seed
Early VC
Later VC
Anna Scally
Partner, Head of Technology, and Media and Fintech Lead, KPMG in Ireland
62
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median deal size ($M) by stage in Europe
2010 2017*
Up, flat or down rounds in Europe
2010 2017*
Rise in median deal sizes signals investor
caution and availability of dry powder
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
$0.5
$0.4
$0.3
$0.3
$0.3
$0.5
$0.7
$0.9
$1.7
$1.5
$1.4
$1.3
$1.5
$1.6
$1.7
$2.6
$3.3
$3.3
$2.9
$3.3
$3.9
$4.4
$4.7
$6.2
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Angel/seed
Early stage VC
Later stage VC
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Down
Flat
Up
63
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median deal size ($M) by series in Europe
2010 2017*
Driven in part by considerable upward pressure from dry powder, but also by macro dynamics still holding
relatively steady, median financing sizes are still at an elevated or even increasing level.
Series A & B stay at elevated level
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
$0.4
$0.4
$0.3
$0.3
$0.3
$0.5
$0.6
$0.8
$2.4
$3.0
$2.5
$3.0
$3.2
$3.7
$4.6
$6.2
$5.8
$6.6
$4.9
$5.9
$7.1
$10.7
$12.2
$13.5
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
$10.5
$5.7
$9.7
$8.5
$13.0
$20.0
$19.1
$27.3
$9.7
$14.1
$15.0
$10.9
$29.7
$47.1
$27.5
$56.5
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
64
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Deal share by series in Europe
2010 2017*, number of closed deals
Deal share by series in Europe
2010 2017*, VC invested ($B)
Series Bs' biggest year yet
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/17. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
20102011201220132014201520162017*Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
$0.0
$2.0
$4.0
$6.0
$8.0
$10.0
$12.0
$14.0
20102011201220132014201520162017*Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
65
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
European venture financings by sector
2014 2017*, number of closed deals
European venture financings by sector
2014 2017*, VC invested ($B)
Given Europe's venture scene is a patchwork of hotspot metro areas and knitting together market areas
by country is a more challenging commercial opportunity than elsewhere, it makes sense that significant
sums are still flowing more into software platforms targeting specific niches than any other segment.
Software platforms reign supreme in 2017
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2014201520162017*Commercial
Services
Consumer
Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices
& Supplies
HC Services
& Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma &
Biotech
Software
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2014201520162017*
66
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Corporate VC participation in venture deals in Europe
2010 Q4'17
CVCs close in on nearly a quarter of all volume
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Marius Steinberg
Co-Leader Smart Start Initiative, Partner, KPMG in Germany
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
$0.0
$0.5
$1.0
$1.5
$2.0
$2.5
$3.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
% of total deal count
67
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
2017 fails to crack 1,000 for first-time financings
of fledgling startups
First-time venture financings of companies in Europe
2010 2017*
Until 2017, the European venture scene never failed to record at least 1,000 first-time financings of young
companies, with the decade on the whole seeing significantly steady sums invested as well, even as the
volume of such transactions waxed then waned. This is more attributable to the ongoing macro factors
affecting the Eurozone than anything else, as well as the growth in sophistication on the part of already-
funded startups and technology corporations in many sectors. The lowest-hanging fruit is often gone.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
$2.9
$3.3
$3.3
$3.0
$2.6
$2.9
$2.9
$2.0
1,151
1,465
1,695
2,002
2,201
1,733
1,387
870
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Capital invested ($B)
Deal count
68
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture-backed exit activity in Europe
2010 Q4'17
Even though the heights of 2014 and 2015 are unlikely to be surpassed for some time, the European
VC-backed exit cycle is still well within historical norms and exit value still remains quite high, all said and
done, still far surpassing anything prior to 2013.
2017 closes at historically healthy figures
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
$0.0
$1.0
$2.0
$3.0
$4.0
$5.0
$6.0
$7.0
$8.0
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Exit value ($B)
Exit count
69
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Strategics pull back as PE shops pick up the
pace somewhat in 2017
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/17. Data provided by PitchBook, January
16, 2018.
Venture-backed exit activity (#)
by type in Europe
2010 2017*
Venture-backed exit activity ($B) by
type in Europe
2010 2017*
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017*
Strategic Acquisition
Buyout
IPO
$0.0
$2.0
$4.0
$6.0
$8.0
$10.0
$12.0
$14.0
$16.0
$18.0
Strategic Acquisition
Buyout
IPO
70
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
European fundraising steadies in the back half
of 2017
European venture fundraising
2010 Q4'17
Fundraising figures are quite variable when broken out by quarter. It is primarily a sign of the relatively
fragmented European fundraising market. It does appear that volume mostly established a plateau of around
10 to 15 funds closed per quarter since the middle of 2016, with fairly healthy totals of VC raised. Should that
continue, ongoing participation from foreign investors should still provide a substantial capital base for activity.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital raised ($B)
# of funds raised
71
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture fundraising (#) by size in
Europe
2010 2017*
LPs remain cautious when it comes to the European fundraising market, committing more to established or
spun-out fund managers. Although hardly very impactful as of yet, the number of first-time funds did stabilize
between 2016 and 2017.
First-time vs. follow-on venture funds
(#) in Europe
2010 2017*
Micro-funds all but vanish, as middle of the
market stays strong
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20102011201220132014201520162017*Under $50M
$50M-$100M
$100M-$250M
$250M-$500M
$500M-$1B
$1B+
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
20102011201220132014201520162017*Follow-on
First-time
72
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in the United Kingdom
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Second-highest tally of VC invested
As 2017 wound down, it became clear that mega-financings could propel the UK's totals of VC raised to
unmatched heights. Benefiting from the steady nurturing of innovative startups over the past decade toward full-
fledged growth, plus ongoing interest from deep-pocketed foreign investment firms, the UK did record a surge in
2017 toward nearly $17 billion in aggregate VC invested, the second-highest tally of the decade by far.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
$0.0
$500.0
$1,000.0
$1,500.0
$2,000.0
$2,500.0
$3,000.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
"The UK VC market has performed strongly despite Brexit related uncertainties and London
remains the epicentre of European startup investments. In order to secure its position as
European leader in technology and innovation, the latest country's budget included a number of
measures to fund and promote cutting-edge industries and technologies of the future."
Patrick Imbach
Head of KPMG Tech Growth, KPMG in the UK
73
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in London
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Deliveroo's $482M Series F caps a strong year
A near-record final quarter of 2017 helped London record a second consecutive quarter of growth in VC
invested, even as the volume of financings hit a new low of the past 4 years. The city still enjoys plenty of
advantages when it comes to attracting VC: it is one of the pre-eminent global financial centers, boasts a
burgeoning, sophisticated tech scene and, as Brexit negotiations remain as murky as ever, looks set to have
shrugged off any concerns around those.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
$0.0
$500.0
$1,000.0
$1,500.0
$2,000.0
$2,500.0
$3,000.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
74
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Ireland
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Overall, 2017 reflects impact of dry powder
As expected, 2017 recorded enough strong tallies prior to Q4 that it ended up amassing the second-highest
aggregate of VC invested of the decade, even as activity lowered significantly from a peak in 2014.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
$0.0
$50.0
$100.0
$150.0
$200.0
$250.0
$300.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
75
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Germany
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
A bump in Q4 to close the year
Germany is still experiencing some modest growth in terms of venture sums invested, even as completed
financings persist in a plateau. The overall European venture investment trend is highly suggestive of a late-stage
cycle, wherein plenty of capital chases fewer deals more selectively. Germany is seeing nothing different.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
$0.0
$500.0
$1,000.0
$1,500.0
$2,000.0
$2,500.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
"In Germany, corporate participation in the VC market has grown rapidly, with more and more big
corporates moving to set up their own VC funds in the country. This is one reason we've seen a
big up-tick in the amount of VC investment here. This model of investing has really gained
traction among corporates over the last 12 months and there are no expectations that it will trail
off anytime soon."
Stefan Kimmel
Partner, KPMG Law, Deal Advisory, M&A, Venture Capital and Private Equity
KPMG in Germany
76
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Berlin
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Germany's hot spot remains steady as ever
Although other nations and cities record much more variability, both Germany and its epicenter of VC activity,
Berlin, have seen remarkably persistent tallies of both VC invested and accompanying transactional volume
since the end of 2015. Given capital availability and macro factors, it is likely such steadiness will continue,
with a potential for a slight decline as investors assess any shifts in politics or economic growth.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
$0.0
$200.0
$400.0
$600.0
$800.0
$1,000.0
$1,200.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
77
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Spain
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Momentum slides but overall, 2017 is robust
Spain has experienced considerable volatility on a quarterly basis and, thus, a slump to close the year
shouldn't be overinterpreted. What's more interesting is that the country's tech and entrepreneurial scenes are
developing to the extent they are able to rake in more money than ever before, albeit slightly. Spain saw well
over $500 million invested in local startups in 2017, just overtopping 2015's tally, even as activity lowered far
more. Driven in large part by mega-rounds, as has been the narrative everywhere in 2017, it nonetheless
testifies to how the Spanish tech scene has developed.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
$0.0
$50.0
$100.0
$150.0
$200.0
$250.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
78
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
10
7
6 3
8
5
4
9
2
1
Deliveroo $482M, London
Internet retail
Series F
Truphone $336.7M, London
Communications
Late-stage VC
TransferWise $280M, London
Financial software
Series E
OakNorth $203.3M, London
Consumer finance
Late-stage VC
ADC Therapeutics $200M, palinges,
Switzerland
Biotechnology
Late-stage VC
7
8
6
9
10
5
4
3
2
1
The Ink Factory $180M, London
Entertainment
Late-stage VC
Orchard Therapeutics $112.3M,
London
Drug discovery
Series B
Secret Escapes $109.5M, London
Leisure
Series D
BIMA $107M, Stockholm
Insurtech
Late-stage VC
CureVac $100M, Tbingen
Biotechnology
Late-stage VC
London accounts for a majority of Q4'17 top deals
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
79
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
France coming into its own as an innovation
leader
Historically, France has been overlooked as it relates to European technology hubs, despite being
home to a number of successful startups, including BlaBlaCar, Criteo, and Talend. This has changed in
recent quarters. The good economic perspectives, combined with a new government committed to
innovation and a strong ecosystem for early-stage startups, have helped transform France into an
innovation force to be reckoned with.
A strong year for VC investment in France
2017 was a banner year for France in terms of VC investment. In Q4'17, the country saw over $275
million of VC funding invested, led by a $41 million raise by online medical booking company Doctolib,
a $28 million raise by Shift Technology, an organization focused on fraud detection and a $22 million
raise by gene therapy firm Horama.
On the deals activity front, France closed the most funding deals in Europe for the first time in 5 years.
This only highlights the growing interest of VC investors in the country. While France's innovation
ecosystem is still in the early-stages of maturity, companies in the country have seen robust
investment, particularly at the seed and early-stage deal levels.
A committed government
Early in 2017, France elected a new president with a strong mandate for encouraging innovation and
entrepreneurship in order to help the country become more competitive both in Europe and
internationally. Recently, President Macron announced the establishment of an $11 billion fund to help
support disruptive innovation, such as Industry 4.0 and other innovative solutions that address the key
challenges of energy, environmental, digital and demographic transformation. The government is also
expected to make tax changes in order to help encourage innovation investments18.
BPI France, the country's public investment bank, also has a strong mandate to support startups,
providing VC funding, lending programs, and other supports to new enterprises. In France's startup
ecosystem, obtaining funding from BPI France is typically considered to be a positive sign, giving
legitimacy to projects and making it easier for companies to raise additional funds. Over the past year,
Beyond seed funding, BPI France is also taking part in larger strategic deal such as the $75M raised by
Actility in 2017 Q2. This is likely a natural progression along the maturity curve as local startups grow
and require more capital.
Station F taking innovation to the next level
In 2017, Station F, the world's largest startup incubator, opened its doors in Paris. Once filled, Station F
is expected to house over 1,000 startups in its 34,000-square foot campus. The focus of Station F is to
create a hive of innovation and collaboration, in addition to providing unique access to the support
needed to help startups succeed. As a part of this objective, Station F has already forged innovation
partnerships with a number of global technology leaders, including Ubisoft, Facebook, Microsoft,
L'Oreal and Thales19.
18 https://www.wsj.com/articles/france-to-create-10-billion-fund-to-invest-in-innovation-1499279714
19 https://stationf.co/
80
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
France coming into its own as an innovation
leader, cont'd.
Station F may be the largest incubator in the country, but other accelerators and incubator programs
have also helped encourage innovation in France. La French Tech, first established in 2013, has been
uniquely successful in developing a range of local and international offices to help support innovative
French companies. Since 2015, La French Tech opened 22 international hubs including offices in San
Francisco, New York, London, Berlin, Hong Kong to help French startup to expand into foreign
markets. A number of France-based incubators/accelerators, such as Axeleo, are also starting hybrid
strategies by launching their own VC funds in order to become more competitive and attractive to both
partners and potential members.
Deeptech a key focus for investment in France
While VC investment in France crosses a number of sectors, from healthtech and biotech to fintech, the
country is becoming a strong center for the basket of technologies referred to as deeptech, including
AI, data analytics, speech recognition algorithms, and IoT. The rapid evolution of deeptech innovation
is not a surprise given France has a long history of scientific competence, with numerous dedicated
research centers focused on computing science and a thriving and highly skilled scientific workforce.
With more public focus on innovation, it is expected that investments in deeptech sectors will only
increase over the next few quarters.
The future looks bright in France
Given the ongoing government commitment to innovation, VC interest and investment in France is
expected to accelerate heading into 2018. Over the next 12 to 18 months, it is expected that many
early-stage French companies will need to focus on achieving scale and beginning to grow. The ability
of these companies to attract additional funding rounds will be critical for ensuring the French
innovation ecosystem can continue to mature and evolve.
81
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in France
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
$1.7B+ invested for third year in a row
Even if the French venture ecosystem is seeing fewer financings, in a shift largely attributable to early-stage
investing developments such as the decline in angels' activity identified earlier, plenty of VC is still being raked
in. A slow Q4 still couldn't prevent 2017 from eclipsing more than $1.7 billion invested.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
$0.0
$100.0
$200.0
$300.0
$400.0
$500.0
$600.0
$700.0
$800.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
82
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Paris
2012 Q4'17
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Paris shines as epicenter of French ecosystem
Despite a downturn in both volume and VC invested, Q4's tally of fundings for Paris-based startups speaks to
the diversity of its ecosystem. Online healthcare platform Doctolib's 35 million funding, ride-sharing app
Less's $19 million Series A round, and biotech Step Pharma's 14.5 million Series A financing all speak to
how the Parisian startup scene is quite buoyant and attracting plenty of capital still.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
$0.0
$100.0
$200.0
$300.0
$400.0
$500.0
$600.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
83
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
$2.0
$1.5
$1.5
$1.3
$1.3
$1.3
$1.3
$2.6
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Median Deal Size ($M)
France VC ecosystem sees a splurge of VC
The extent to which the French venture scene has been abuzz with activity is easily seen by the massive
surge in median transaction size last year. Even though that must be contrasted with the decline in overall
volume of completed financings, the amounts VCs are happy to invest in local startups are quite high,
especially on a historical basis. Partially attributable to dry powder levels partially due to the supply of French
enterprises looking for funding, similarly high figures are to be expected in 2018.
"In 2017, France took a giant leap forward in terms of both the growing maturity of its startup
ecosystem and in terms of its expanding VC market. The political support with initiatives like
Station F's opening, foster the French entrepreneurial dynamism, while the growing maturity of
VC and corporate venture markets allows increased support for startups growth."
Georges Gambarini
Manager
KPMG in France
Median venture financing size ($M) in France
2010 2017*
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
In Q4'17 VC-backed
companies in the Asia
region raised
$15.6B
across
245 deals
85
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
.
Asia VC propelled by two $4 billion mega-deals
in Q4'17
VC investment in Asia closed out 2017 at a new high on the heels of two massive $4 billion mega-deals
in China, one by Didi-Chuxing and the other by Meituan-Dianping. The strong quarter helped propel
Asia to over $45 billion of VC investment for the year, despite the drop in the number of VC deals.
Q4'17 results reach $15 billion
Q4'17 saw Asia attract a 6-quarter high in VC investment. The top three mega-rounds accounted for
well over half of this investment. These, combined with an additional six rounds over $200 million
highlight the growing trend in Asia for bigger and bigger deals. Given this investor focus, it was not
surprising to see the number of deals decline, although the drop was particularly noticeable at the seed
and angel deal stage. Seed and angel-stage deals plummeted from nearly 50% of total financings to
just over 10% this past quarter.
Strategic focus fostering Chinese VC investment globally
Over the last 2 quarters, Chinese investors have become more strategic with respect to their global
investments, focusing primarily on value-added technologies or on geographic or vertical growth. Many of
the big tech giants in China have increasingly eyed Southeast Asia for growth opportunities. Given
Southeast Asia's large population, growing middle class and increasing appetite for consumer products and
services, the big Chinese technology companies believe the opportunities are very significant there20.
Hong Kong sees larger rounds in Q4'17
Hong Kong experienced a nice end to 2017 with over $425 million in VC invested in Q4'17, including
funding rounds to WeLab ($220 million), Lalamove ($100 million), Klook ($60 million) and Prenetics
($40 million). VC investors from mainland China have shown a strong appetite for Hong Kong
companies, which has helped drive investment activity. Heading into Q1'18, the outlook for Hong Kong
is quite positive.
Autotech becoming hot in China
VC investment in autotech boomed in China during Q4'17, highlighted by China-based electric car
company Nio attracting a $1 billion Series D round from Tencent21. VC investors in Asia have also been
attracted to companies providing technology enabled solutions to the automotive industry, from new
models of ownership to post-sale servicing. Local governments in China are highly supportive of
autotech, with many strongly incenting autotechs to set up local operations.
India VC investment strengthens
VC investment in India was relatively strong this year. One of the key areas of investment was fintech,
where demonetization and the implementation of India's new GST both helped drive investment.
Foodtech also attracted significant investor interest, primarily in the first half of the year, when
FoodPanda and Swiggy both raised significant rounds. Software-as-a-service and cross-industry
applicable technologies like AI, CRM, and data analytics were also hot areas of investor attention. Each
of these areas is poised for additional growth, in addition to health and wellness.
Many of India's unicorns performed well in recent months. Unlike in China, however, India also saw a
strong level of seed and angel deals. The challenge in India continues to be the big gap at the middle
stages of deal funding.
20 http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/business/article/2111431/whats-drawing-chinese-internet-giants-indian-southeast-asian-tech
21 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nio-fundraising/china-electric-car-startup-nio-raises-over-1-billion-from-tencent-others-sources-
idUSKBN1D90MS
86
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Asia VC propelled by two $4 billion mega-deals
in Q4'17
In Q4'17, India saw the creation of Indiatech a new group focused on lobbying the government
against the aggressive expansion plans of American tech giants like Amazon and Uber, although its
identified focus has received some pushback from the government22.
Over the next year, investment is expected to grow related to internet products and services offered in
Indian languages. The Indian language internet user base has grown significantly in recent years,
reaching 234 million users in 2017. With Indian language users expected to account for almost 75% of
the internet user base by 2021, interest in language specific platforms is only expected to increase23.
AI continues to expand reach and investor pull
In Asia, AI has gained a significant amount of attention from investors, particularly AI related to
healthtech and fintech. In Q4'17, SenseTime Group, a Hong Kong-based artificial intelligence company
specializing in facial recognition is in the process of attracting $500 million from US mobile chip giant
Qualcomm Technologies. In Q4'17, China-based Face++ also raised $460 million.
China has made great strides in the advancement of AI technologies and is increasingly taking a lead
globally in certain areas of AI innovation. The speed of adaptation and rapidly growing interest by
corporates has helped with this push as it has only accelerated the development of a broad range of AI
technologies24.
Trends to watch for in 2018
Looking forward, the success of Asia VC will likely continue to be driven by significant mega-deals for
the near term. Over the next few quarters, autotech, AI and enterprise services are expected to
continue to receive significant investment.
Given the increasing Indian language internet user base, there will likely be increasing demand for
multi-language technologies and accessibility. This could drive some exciting investments in 2018 and
beyond.
After a volley of funding over the past 2 years, the bike sharing market has become very saturated.
While Mobike and Ofo have evolved into dominant players, others have collapsed and died out in
recent months25. Heading into 2018, there will likely be consolidations in the space as companies look
to achieve economies of scale.
22 https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/06/india-tech-start-ups-ask-for-government-help-as-global-firms-threaten.html
23 https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2017/04/Indian-languages-Defining-Indias-Internet.pdf
24 http://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/2120009/qualcomm-bets-chinese-ai-start-sensetime-bid-make-mobile-devices and
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ywang/2017/11/06/will-the-future-of-artificial-intelligence-look-chinese/#499859e77fdc
25 http://www.businessinsider.com/china-bike-sharing-frenzy-collapsing-2017-11
87
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in Asia
2010 Q4'17
It's difficult to overstate how remarkably robust 2017 was when it comes to the flow of capital into Asia's
emerging tech scene. Three consecutive quarters handily recorded well over $10 billion, an unsurpassed
feat. Led by China, local governments are fostering as much innovation and consequent growth in jobs and
technological development as possible. 2018 looks set to see only more of the same.
Even as volume continued to plunge, VC
invested stays stubbornly strong
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
$0
$5
$10
$15
$20
$25
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
# of deals closed
Angel/Seed
Early VC
Later VC
88
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median deal size ($M) by stage in Asia
2010 2017*
Deal sizes signal the maturation of the tech
scene and developing VC ecosystem
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Median transaction sizes remained quite low until 2014, when the late-stage began to see its explosive
rise. The steadiness at earlier stages speaks more to how the Asian venture ecosystem is still ramping up,
by and large, and has to develop at a depth sufficient to support a range of enterprises able to attract and
even require early-stage funding sources.
$0.3
$0.4
$0.3
$0.4
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.7
$4.7
$5.0
$3.2
$3.0
$4.5
$5.0
$7.0
$7.2
$10.0
$12.0
$8.6
$10.0
$16.0
$22.0
$20.0
$26.0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Angel/seed
Early stage VC
Later stage VC
89
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Median deal size ($M) by series in Asia
2010 2017*
Note: Select figures are rounded for legibility.
Deal metrics hold steady
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
$0.3
$0.4
$0.3
$0.4
$0.5
$0.5
$0.5
$0.7
$3.5
$5.0
$3.5
$2.7
$4.5
$4.9
$5.0
$5.8
$8.0
$10.0
$7.8
$8.1
$15.0
$16.3
$15.0
$15.0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Seed
Series A
Series B
$17.0
$17.9
$16.5
$15.0
$30.0
$35.5
$33.0
$40.0
$50
$26
$30
$25
$50
$100
$54
$120
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series C
Series D+
90
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Deal share by series in Asia
2010 2017*, number of closed deals
Deal share by series in Asia
2010 2017*, VC invested ($B)
In a significant downturn by volume, the earliest
winners propel shift toward later stage
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/17. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
$0.0
$5.0
$10.0
$15.0
$20.0
$25.0
$30.0
$35.0
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Series D+
Series C
Series B
Series A
Angel/seed
91
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Software remains main game in town
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
Asia venture financings by sector
2014 2017*, number of closed deals
Asia venture financings by sector
2014 2017*, VC invested ($B)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2014201520162017*Commercial
Services
Consumer
Goods &
Recreation
Energy
HC Devices
& Supplies
HC Services
& Systems
IT Hardware
Media
Other
Pharma &
Biotech
Software
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2014201520162017*
92
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2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Corporate participation in venture deals in Asia
2014 Q4'17
The role played by Asian corporations in fostering VC activity is critical. Government-affiliated enterprises,
multinationals like Alibaba and others are all either investing directly or via their corporate venture arms in
order to stay abreast of all emerging opportunities. The Chinese government, in particular, is doubling down
on support of major growth-boosting initiatives to shift its economy more firmly toward technology, especially
as its regional push toward One Belt, One Road only continues apace.
CVCs remain a far more significant factor
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
$0
$2
$4
$6
$8
$10
$12
$14
$16
$18
1Q
2Q
3Q
4Q
1Q
2Q
3Q
4Q
1Q
2Q
3Q
4Q
1Q
2Q
3Q
4Q
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($B)
% of total deal count
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
"AI investment is a big focus in China, not just for VC investors but for the big tech players like
Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. The challenge for many will come down to talent. Corporates, in
particular, are making strategic acquisitions simply as a means to capture talent."
Egidio Zarrella
Clients and Innovation Partner, KPMG Hong Kong
93
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2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture-backed exit activity in Asia
2010 Q4'17
It's obvious that the Asian startup ecosystem has much growth in store. Accordingly, significant variability in
venture-backed exits is only to be expected, as the supply of businesses that are prepared for liquidity is
simply not that large. However, sustained strength in exit value in the back half of 2017 illustrates what is
possible, even as the exit cycle wound down throughout 2017.
A slow year for exits
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
$7
$8
$9
1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q1Q2Q3Q4Q
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Exit value ($B)
Exit count
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
"Unlike other large Asian markets, Japanese venture investments in 2017 remained primarily in
the seed and Series A stages, with fewer large subsequent follow-on rounds (with some notable
exceptions such as Preferred Networks). This reflects not only the overall maturity of Japan's
venture market, but also the tendency of Japanese venture companies to seek IPO exits at
earlier stages and at smaller amounts than in other markets."
Paul Ford
Partner, Deal Advisory, KPMG in Japan
94
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2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture-backed exit activity (#)
by type in Asia
2013 2017*
Strategics took a breather in 2017 and exits
diminished significantly as a result
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook,
January 16, 2018.
Venture-backed exit activity ($B) by type
in Asia
2013 2017*
0
50
100
150
200
250
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Strategic Acquisition
Buyout
IPO
$0
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
$140
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017*
Strategic Acquisition
Buyout
IPO
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
"Chinese investors are highly focused on rapidly scaling and gaining market share so that they
can quickly dominate the market. This is why we are seeing bigger and bigger acquisitions
many driven by China's biggest tech giants, as they look to take out their competition in different
sub and adjacent verticals."
Irene Chu
Partner, Head of Technology, Hong Kong Region, KPMG China
95
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2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture fundraising in Asia
2011 Q4'17
Surveying quarterly fundraising tallies from 2015 through much of 2017, it's clear that there is plenty of
capital raised recently to support financing activity in the Asian ecosystem. The recent slowdown is more a
testament to timing than anything else. It's also worth noting that as global investment firms, particularly
those housed primarily in the US, look abroad, there is more competition on the horizon.
Local fundraising still outpaced by foreign
investors' interest
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital raised ($B)
# of funds raised
96
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services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture fundraising (#) by size in Asia
2010 2017*
First-time vs. follow-on venture funds
(#) in Asia
2010 2017*
Sub-$50M funds hold steady in 2017, as middle
of the market sees most of the action
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. *As of 12/31/2017. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20102011201220132014201520162017*Under $50M
$50M-$100M
$100M-$250M
$250M-$500M
$500M-$1B
$1B+
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
20102011201220132014201520162017*First-time
Follow-on
97
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Venture financing in India
2012 Q4'17
The Indian venture scene in 2017 was marked once again by mega-rounds, for even as the volume of
completed transactions fell steeply from the levels seen in 2015 and 2016, VC invested stayed even with
the prior year. No fewer than six transactions exceeding $100 million in size occurred in 2017, speaking to
the growth of the Indian tech scene overall to-date, even if the investing cycle is resetting as it winds down.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
The investing cycle is resetting
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
"2017 was relatively a good year for VC investment in India. Big deals early in the year by Unicorns helped
drive momentum in later quarters. Moving forward, we expect to see continued growth in digital players
focused on providing services in fintech, healthtech, foodtech, as well as other ecosystem players. A
possible new trend could be Indian language internet users. Indian language internet users have already
surpassed English users in the country, and are forecast to represent nearly 75% of India's internet user
base by 202126. This is a new set of customers who are digitally enabled and prefer an Indian language
over English. Most consumer internet companies, as well as the digital initiatives of consumer brands are
expected to target this consumer base in the coming years."
Sreedhar Prasad
Partner, Consumer Markets, Internet Business and Startups, KPMG in India
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
$0.0
$500.0
$1,000.0
$1,500.0
$2,000.0
$2,500.0
$3,000.0
$3,500.0
$4,000.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
26 https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2017/04/Indian-languages-Defining-Indias-Internet.pdf
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
98
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2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Venture financing in China
2012 Q4'17
Owing to dynamics identified previously (significant government support, corporations' role, large investment
firms' push into the tech sector, etc.) China recorded well over $40 billion in VC invested in 2017. That not only
represents as massive increase over the $35 billion seen in 2016, it also showcases just how avidly investors,
both foreign and domestic, are piling into the nation's tech scene to capitalize on its emerging middle class.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
Mega-rounds push to a new high in VC invested
Patrick Imbach
Co-Head of KPMG Tech Growth,
KPMG in the UK
"Enterprise services companies are gaining a lot of ground in Asia, but particularly in China. In
Q4'17, more than 70 deals closed in the B2B enterprise services space, with over $1.3 billion
USD invested. Over time, this area is only expected to grow as companies realize the value of
leveraging startups to drive both increased efficiency and customer value. Additionally, autotech
continues to attract significant investments in China. We are seeing a strong inflow of capital in
this area, as signaled by a number of sizable deals this quarter, we expect this trend to continue
in the next few quarters."
Philip Ng
Partner, Head of Technology, KPMG China
0
50
100
150
200
250
$0.0
$2,000.0
$4,000.0
$6,000.0
$8,000.0
$10,000.0
$12,000.0
$14,000.0
$16,000.0
$18,000.0
$20,000.0
1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Capital invested ($M)
# of deals closed
99
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Source: Venture Pulse, Q4'17, Global Analysis of Venture Funding, KPMG Enterprise. Data provided by PitchBook, January 16, 2018.
China accounts for all Q4'17 top financings
Didi Chuxing $4,000M, Beijing
Transportation
Late-stage VC
Meituan-Dianping $4,000M, Beijing
E-commerce
Series C
Nio $1,000M, Shanghai
Transportation
Series D
Guazi.com $580M, Beijing
E-commerce
Series B
Hellobike $502M, Shanghai
Transportation
Series D
7
8
6
9
10
5
4
3
2
1
Face++ $460M, Beijing
Application software
Series C
Souche.com $335M, Hangzhou
E-commerce
Series E
Tujia $300M, Beijing
Leisure
Series E
WeLab Holdings $220M, Hong Kong
Consumer finance
Series B
ExPace Technology $181.2M, Wuhan
Aerospace
Series A
6
3
8
5
9
2
1
10
7
4
100
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
KPMG Enterprise Innovative Startup Network.
From seed to speed, we're here throughout
your journey
Contact us:
Brian Hughes
Co-Leader, KPMG Enterprise
Innovative Startups Network
E: bfhughes@kpmg.com
Arik Speier
Co-Leader, KPMG Enterprise
Innovative Startups Network
E: aspeier@kpmg.com
101
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2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
About KPMG Enterprise
You know KPMG, you might not know KPMG Enterprise.
KPMG Enterprise advisers in member firms around the world are dedicated to working with businesses
like yours. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking to get started, an innovative, fast growing company, or
an established company looking to an exit, KPMG Enterprise advisers understand what is important to you
and can help you navigate your challenges no matter the size or stage of your business. You gain
access to KPMG's global resources through a single point of contact a trusted adviser to your company.
It's a local touch with a global reach.
The KPMG Enterprise Global Network for Innovative Startups has extensive knowledge and experience
working with the startup ecosystem. Whether you are looking to establish your operations, raise capital,
expand abroad, or simply comply with regulatory requirements we can help. From seed to speed, we're
here throughout your journey.
About KPMG Enterprise
102
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2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
We acknowledge the contribution of the following individuals who assisted in the
development of this publication:
Jonathan Lavender, Global Chairman, KPMG Enterprise, KPMG International
Brian Hughes, Co-Leader, KPMG Enterprise Innovative Startups Network, and National Co-Lead Partner,
KPMG Venture Capital Practice, KPMG in the US
Arik Speier, Co-Leader, KPMG Enterprise Innovative Startups Network, and Head of Technology, KPMG
in Israel
Anna Scally, Partner, Head of Technology and Media and Fintech Lead, KPMG in Ireland
Conor Moore, National Co-Lead Partner, KPMG Venture Capital Practice, KPMG in the US
Egidio Zarrella, Clients and Innovation Partner, Hong Kong Region, KPMG in China
Georges Gambarini, Manager, KPMG in France
Gerardo Rojas, Head of Deal Advisory, KPMG in Mexico
Gilad Nass, Innovation Advisory, KPMG in Israel
Irene Chu, Head of Technology, Hong Kong Region, KPMG in China
Janet Lehman, Partner in Charge, New England Clinical Life Science Practice, KPMG in the US
Lindsay Hull, Associate Director, KPMG Enterprise Global Innovative Startups Network,
KPMG in the US
Melany Eli, Global Head of Marketing and Communications, KPMG Enterprise, KPMG International
Patrick Imbach, Head of KPMG Tech Growth, KPMG in the UK
Paul Ford, Partner, Deal Advisory, KPMG in Japan
Philip Ng, Head of Technology, KPMG China
Sonia Chiu, Manager, KPMG in the U.K.
Sreedhar Prasad, Partner, Consumer Markets, Internet Business and Startups, KPMG in India
Stefan Kimmel, Partner, KPMG Law, Deal Advisory, M&A, Venture Capital and Private Equity, KPMG
in Germany
Sunil Mistry, Partner, KPMG Enterprise, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, KPMG in Canada
Acknowledgements
103
#Q4VC
2018 KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"). KPMG International provides no client
services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
KPMG has switched to PitchBook as the provider of venture data for the Venture
Pulse report. Due to differing methodologies between data providers, there may
be discrepancies between this and prior editions of the Venture Pulse report.
Please note that the MESA and Africa regions are NOT broken out in this report. Accordingly, if you add
up the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe regional totals, they will not match the global total, as the
global total takes into account those other regions. Those specific regions were not highlighted in this
report due to a paucity of datasets and verifiable trends.
Fundraising
PitchBook defines venture capital funds as pools of capital raised for the purpose of investing in the equity
of startup companies. In addition to funds raised by traditional venture capital firms, PitchBook also
includes funds raised by any institution with the primary intent stated above. Funds identified as growth-
stage vehicles are classified as PE funds and are not included in this report. A fund's location is
determined by the country in which the fund is domiciled, if that information is not explicitly known, the HQ
country of the fund's general partner is used. Only funds based in the US that have held their final close
are included in the fundraising numbers. The entirety of a fund's committed capital is attributed to the year
of the final close of the fund. Interim close amounts are not recorded in the year of the interim close.
Deals
PitchBook includes equity investments into startup companies from an outside source. Investment does
not necessarily have to be taken from an institutional investor. This can include investment from individual
angel investors, angel groups, seed funds, venture capital firms, corporate venture firms, and corporate
investors. Investments received as part of an accelerator program are not included, however, if the
accelerator continues to invest in follow-on rounds, those further financings are included. All financings are
of companies headquartered in the US.
Angel/seed: PitchBook defines financings as angel rounds if there are no PE or VC firms involved in the
company to date and it cannot determine if any PE or VC firms are participating. In addition, if there is a
press release that states the round is an angel round, it is classified as such. If angels are the only
investors, then a round is only marked as seed if it is explicitly stated.
Early-stage: Rounds are generally classified as Series A or B (which PitchBook typically aggregates
together as early-stage) either by the series of stock issued in the financing or, if that information is
unavailable, by a series of factors including: the age of the company, prior financing history, company
status, participating investors, and more.
The impact of initial coin offerings on early-stage venture financing as of yet remains indefinite.
Furthermore, as classification and characterization of ICOs, particularly given their security concerns,
remains crucial to render accurately, we have not detailed such activity in this publication until a
sufficiently robust methodology and underlying store of datasets have been reached.
Late-stage: Rounds are generally classified as Series C or D or later (which PitchBook typically
aggregates together as late-stage) either by the series of stock issued in the financing or, if that
information is unavailable, by a series of factors including: the age of the company, prior financing
history, company status, participating investors, and more.
Methodology
104
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services and is a Swiss entity with which the independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated.
Growth equity: Rounds must include at least one investor tagged as growth/expansion, while deal size
must either be $15 million or more (although rounds of undisclosed size that meet all other criteria are
included). In addition, the deal must be classified as growth/expansion or later-stage VC in the PitchBook
Platform. If the financing is tagged as late-stage VC it is included regardless of industry.
Also, if a company is tagged with any PitchBook vertical, excepting manufacturing and infrastructure, it is
kept. Otherwise, the following industries are excluded from growth equity financing calculations: buildings
and property, thrifts and mortgage finance, real estate investment trusts, and oil & gas equipment, utilities,
exploration, production and refining. Lastly, the company in question must not have had an M&A event,
buyout, or IPO completed prior to the round in question.
Corporate venture capital: Financings classified as corporate venture capital include rounds that saw both
firms investing via established CVC arms or corporations making equity investments off balance sheets or
whatever other non-CVC method actually employed.
Exits
PitchBook includes the first majority liquidity event for holders of equity securities of venture-backed
companies. This includes events where there is a public market for the shares (IPO) or the acquisition of
the majority of the equity by another entity (corporate or financial acquisition). This does not include
secondary sales, further sales after the initial liquidity event, or bankruptcies. M&A value is based on
reported or disclosed figures, with no estimation used to assess the value of transactions for which the
actual deal size is unknown.
Methodology, cont'd
kpmg.com/venturepulse [website]
@kpmg [Twitter]
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provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such
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