August sees 2nd highest VC investments in a month in 2017 at $440 mn

Early-stage investments remains sluggish, says Venture Intelligence data

Venture capital (VC) investments during August have seen 34 deals worth around $440 million, making it the second highest investment in a month during 2017. In August, VC investments have seen a growth of 140 per cent in terms of value, compared to $180 million in investments during the month of July this year.

However, the VC investments during the month were lower by four per cent compared to the investment of $458 million in 37 deals during August last year.

The growth during August, compared to July, was led by growth capital, while angel investments remained in a sluggish phase, according to data from Venture Intelligence, a research firm focused on private company financials, transactions, and their valuations. August also arrested the two-month slide in deal activity, which began in June, it said.

"The increase in the value of investments in August was on the back of investors predominantly focusing on new rounds for existing portfolio companies - especially Series B and later rounds," said Arun Natarajan, the founder of Venture Intelligence. The data revealed by the research firm is on Seed-to-Series D round investments in companies less than 10 years old and with a value of up to $20 million. This also includes investments in information technology companies that are less than 10 years old and have a deal value above $20 million.

The total monthly deal value during the year hit a high of around $600 million in March, while the other months saw total deal values below $400 million or even below $200 million, which was in April 2017.

The investments in August include a $100-million investment in B2B e-commerce firm Just Buy Live and an $80 million investment into data protection software firm Druva. The month has seen around 10 deals worth more than $10 million or more, with VC investors predominantly focused on Series B and above rounds. Online lending firm Capital Float has attracted an investment of $45 million, while Treebo Hotels received an investment of around $34 million.

At least four healthcare firms raised funds during the month, including bioinformatics firm MedGenome, which raised $30 million, and fitness chain operator Curefit, which raised $25 million.

The payments segment saw fund raising from Simpl, Ezetap, and Instamojo during the month, while the enterprises segment witnessed fund raising in Druva and Limetray, added data released by Venture Intelligence.

However, angel investments saw a slowdown to 19 investments registered during the month, compared to 47 deals in the same period last year and 22 deals in July 2017. There were seven deals in the seed round in August this year, as compared to 12 in July, seven in June, and 12 in May 2017. The total value of angel investments during the month is not known.

The early-stage VC funding segment also saw a decline in investments, with Series A funding declining sequentially to four deals in August, compared to seven in July, nine in June, and 12 in May 2017.

There were five Series B, three Series C, and two Series D deals during August.