At the 500 Startups PreMoney Conference in June, LP investor Fred Guiffrida of Horsley Bridge had this to say about evaluating VC funds:
[Tweet “Don’t confuse brains with a bull market”]
And while the IPO markets may look tame compared to the heady dotcom days by pure quantity, VC-backed tech company exit valuations globally continue to climb. According to CB Insights valuation data, aggregate exit valuation for global venture capital-backed tech exits has seen a huge step-up from recent quarters, hitting $52.8 billion in Q2 2014. Compared to the same quarter last year, aggregate tech exit valuations for VC-backed companies have jumped over 367%. Of note, the valuation jump in Q2 was largely driven by international exits including JD.com, Jumei and Just-Eat.
The chart below highlights the aggregate exit valuation of global tech exits since the start of 2013 by quarter. While aggregate exit valuation has bumped up in a big way, it’s worth remembering that most venture-backed startup exits are smallerthan the headline-grabbing home runs.
Of course, whether this run up is the result of brains or a bull market is something we’ll let you decide.
Looking for more tech exit data? Check out the 2013 Global Tech Exits Report and sign up for the CB Insights Venture Capital Database for free below.