2015 Year in Review

As our 2015 Year in Review series comes to an end, we break down the VC investment activity in the U.K./Ireland, GSA, France/Benelux and Nordic regions, examining how each fared during the year.

We focus on venture capital activity in three U.S. regions: Boston, Los Angeles and the Midwest. Highlights include: Capital invested in Boston-area biotechs reached nearly $3 billion; Three Los Angeles-area companies garnered $1 billion+ valuations, with one exceeding $15 billion; Median pre-money valuations in the Midwest jumped by 35% YoY.

Continuing our 2015 year in Review series, we break down the investment activity in the Bay Area, PNW and New York City Metro regions, examining how each fared during the year.

As we continue the release of our popular year-end datagraphics, here is a comprehensive breakdown of global venture capital fundraising, dealmaking and exit trends from 2015.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be publishing year-end datagraphics to recap global private equity, venture capital and M&A activity in 2015. First up is our PE summary, breaking down fundraising, dealmaking and exit trends.

As part of our continuing 2015 Year in Review coverage, here is a datagraphic summarizing in global M&A activity over the past year. 2015 recorded roughly $2.1 trillion in deal volume, up 17% from the previous year.

As the end of the year arrives, it’s time to reflect. And to close out 2015, the PitchBook Editorial team discusses below what we saw this year in M&A, private equity and venture capital, while also looking ahead to what may be in store in the year to come.

As part of our ongoing 2015 in Review coverage, we recap five of the coolest new features added to the PitchBook Platform over the past year, including tools to track private-company social media and web growth, explore VC co-investor networks and more.

Needless to say, this year didn’t provide the most enticing environment for an IPO. But of those that made the jump, here is a look at some of the winners and losers.

Looking back on VC news, stories and social media musings throughout 2015, it becomes clear that certain trends, industries and ideas drove the narrative more than others. Here are the buzzwords of the past year in VC.

2015 may one day be known as the Year of the Unicorn: 47 new U.S.-based startups reached billion-dollar valuations this year, along with 28 companies based outside the U.S.

M&A has been booming in 2015, and the roughly $2 trillion in transaction volume across North American and Europe this year doesn’t even factor in several announced mega-deals that have yet to close. Here are five of the biggest announced deals that won’t show up in 2015 numbers but generated a lot of buzz.

As part of our ongoing 2015 in Review coverage, we wanted to highlight five of our most popular reports of the past year—some of which might have slipped under your radar.

Over the next few weeks, PitchBook will be publishing our 2015 in Review content, recapping what you need to know about the year’s major happenings. To start off, we feature 10 of our most popular blog posts of the year:

As part of PitchBook’s 2015 Year in Review, we ranked the top five PE and VC deals, exits and funds of the past year.