Dashboard: Canaan leads fundraising charge

Fundraising (value up 222%)

U.S.-based venture firms raised $2.174 billion in October, a 222 percent rise from the $673 million raised in September, according to Thomson Reuters data. Canaan Partners led the charge, raising $675 million to close its 10th IT and health care fund. In addition, 25 other firms raised commitments in the month, including Thrive Capital Partners and OpenView Venture Partners.

Deals (value drops 16%)

Deal activity slowed in October, as the combined amount raised by venture-backed, U.S.-based companies in the month fell to $4.6 billion, compared to $5.5 billion in September. Overall, there were 355 companies that raised venture rounds in October, compared to a little more than 500 deals that raised money in September. Among the notable deals in October was the Dania, Fla.-based augmented reality company Magic Leap, which raised $542 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and others. Other large round came Ooyala, Nanthealth and Square.

M&A (value up 987.2%)

A texting app ballooned the figures in October, as a total of 30 venture-backed, U.S.-based companies were acquired in October, resulting in an aggregate rank value of $21.31 billion for the eight that disclosed financial terms. In September, total M&A deal activity had 34 companies sell for a combined $1.96 billion. The reason for the outsized total in October was that Facebook competed its $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp. Minus that deal, 29 companies in October were purchased for $1.8 billion, more comparable to the month before.

IPO (proceeds up 277%)

A total of nine U.S.-based VC-backed companies went IPO on the NYSE or Nasdaq in October, compared to four in September. Similarly, the combined proceeds also soared, 277 percent in fact. going from $294 in September to nearly $1.1 billion in total proceeds in October. The l argest IPO in October came from Wayfair. The Boston-based online retailer of home goods raised $319 million in its Oct. 3 debut.

Based on Thomson Reuters data and original research.

Data is continuously updated and is therefore subject to change. Date is for U.S.-based companies and venture firms.

Photo illustrations by Janet Yuen.