Venture funding rises to $15.8 bln in Q2

Venture funding to U.S. startups rose in the second quarter after a slow start to the year, but remained far below the ebullient levels of last year, according to a report from Dow Jones VentureSource.

The quarter saw $15.8 billion distributed to 845 deals, a rise of 19.8 percent in dollars from the first quarter, the report shows. The number of deals fell 8.4 percent.

In last year’s second quarter, more than $19 billion was invested.

The rise suggests venture funding has leveled out after a period of uncertainty sparked by declining unicorn valuations and choppy financial markets.

Consumer services companies received the largest share of the quarter’s money, followed by business and financial services companies and then healthcare startups.

The period’s top deals went to Uber Technologies ($3.5 billion), Snapchat ($1.27 billion) and GT Forge ($300 million), the report found.