Dive Brief:
- Venture capital investments in startups were up in the second quarter, according to report published Friday.
- The MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association found investors put $15.3 billion into venture-backed startups in the second quarter of 2016.
- That’s 20.5% increase from the first quarter.
Dive Insight:
The news was a welcome sign for the tech market, where concerns over valuations have made investors skittish in recent months. Better market stability during Q2 helped lure investors back in, according to the report.
"There was a bit of a pause in the first quarter when the public markets took a beating," Sean Cunningham, managing director of Trident Capital Cybersecurity told Reuters. "The public markets are back. Everyone is bullish."
Uber and Snapchat raised almost a third of the $15.3 billion total investments alone.
Although total funding was up, there were 5%, fewer deals in Q2 as compared to Q1.
"We are being more selective," Erik Gordon, professor at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and faculty adviser to the university's venture capital fund told Reuters. "We're not going to invest in everything that says 'We are the Uber of X' or 'the Facebook of Y.'"
