Asia's venture capital deal value hit US$129b in 2018

China leads the pack with $145.6b (US$107b) made from 4,281 deals.

For the first time ever, the Asian venture capital (VC) industry led globally with a total deal value of $175.6b (US$129b) made from over 5,780 deals across the region in 2018, according to reports from alternative assets data firm Preqin.

North America trailed Asia with completed 5,510 VC deals in 2018, worth a total of $153.62b (US$113b).

The global VC industry set a record $372.9b (US$274b) from 14,889 deals in 2018, the average deal amounting $34m (US$25m).

A large bulk of Asia’s VC growth came from China, where about 4,281 deals were closed for a combined value of $145.6b (US$107b), representing 74% and 83% of the Asian market, respectively. India followed with $12.8b (US$9.4b) from 813 deals.

Singapore had the third biggest VC industry in Asia and made $6.7b (US$4.9b) from 227 deals.

Exit values also set a new high with $224.6b (US$165b) from 1,094 exit deals. The average VC exit valued at $586.6m (US$431m), over twice the amount recorded for 2017 ($268.2m or US$197m) and 20x the average VC deal.

Preqin also noted that the technology industry dominated VC investment, with internet, software and other IT related ventures accounting for 55% of VC deals and 51% of deal value. Accordingly, the internet sector accounted for $108.9b (US$80b) or 29% of total value. Software and related industries wracked up almost $53.1b (US$39b) or 15% of completed deals.