U.S. venture capital firms raised $22.16 billion last year, making it the largest fund-raising year since 2001, according to new statistics from Dow Jones VentureOne.
The figure was up 19 percent from 2004, though the number of funds actually dropped slightly. The firm said that the trend toward larger funds is a result of "the increasing globalization of the technology market and the need to provide entrepreneurial companies with larger rounds of financing so they can scale up quicker than the competition."
In the fourth quarter of 2005, the largest U.S. fund raised was the $1.4 billion Technology Crossover Ventures VI fund, while three other U.S. funds also topped $500 million.
The figure was up 19 percent from 2004, though the number of funds actually dropped slightly. The firm said that the trend toward larger funds is a result of "the increasing globalization of the technology market and the need to provide entrepreneurial companies with larger rounds of financing so they can scale up quicker than the competition."
In the fourth quarter of 2005, the largest U.S. fund raised was the $1.4 billion Technology Crossover Ventures VI fund, while three other U.S. funds also topped $500 million.