IN Q3 2017, six of the top ten venture capital deals by deal size were from Asia, with investments in Singapore’s Grab Holdings and China’s Toutiao topping the list, raising funds of US$2 billion each, according to a venture capital report by Preqin. 

Anthony Tan Group CEO and co-founder of Grab Holdings, which raised US$2 billion in fundraising from Didi Chuxing and Softbank in July.

The investment in Grab Holdings in July saw funding from investors including China’s Didi Chuxing, the firm involved in the largest venture capital-backed deal ever recorded. One month later in August, Toutiao raised funds of US$2 billion from investor General Atlantic.

Also making the top-ten list were Ready-Go and Cainiao Network of China, Flipkart Internet Private Limited of India, and PT Tokopedia in Indonesia. Alibaba was a major investor in two of these deals, investing US$1.5 billion in Flipkart and 5.3 billion yuan (US$800 million) in Cainiao.

This quarter was also particular in being the second consecutive quarter to register record high aggregate deal values, with 2,362 deals and an aggregate deal value of US$49 billion. Although Asia dominated the top ten deals, North America saw the greatest activity in the quarter, with 939 deals announced for an aggregate deal value of US$19 billion. Israel saw the greatest drop in deal activity from the previous quarter. In Q2 2017, Israel made up 34% of aggregate deal value; in Q3, this figure stands at just 1%.

“2017 now seems assured to set new records for venture capital-backed deal activity, as the industry has witnessed its second consecutive record-breaking quarter. Driven by the rising number of late-stage multi-billion-dollar financings – eight in Q3 alone – the industry is setting new records with increasing regularity. Increased opportunities in emerging markets and increased appetite from investors are combining to propel the venture capital industry to new heights,” says Felice Egidio, head of venture capital products at Preqin.

The largest venture capital-backed exit announced in Q3 2017 was the 9.5-billion-yuan sale of China-based Mango TV to Happigo.