U.S. Venture Capital Fundraising Plunges 54%

Venture capital fundraising in the second quarter dried up as the U.S. saw the worst venture capital fundraising quarter in nearly two years.

U.S. venture capital firm fundraising dropped 54% to $2.88 billion as 10-year returns yield 6.9% returns versus the Nasdaq’s 8.5%, reports Reuters.

The National Venture Capital Association and Reuters say last year 51 venture capital firms raised cash; this year that number dropped to 44.

“Dollar values of capital under management are declining from historical levels,” said NVCA president Mark Heesen. “Counterbalancing this trend is the recent uptick in the venture-backed IPO market which, if sustainable, may very well draw more dollars into the asset class in the coming year.”

The top five venture capital funds made up 55% of total fundraising.