A new report from KPMG International and CB Insights finds venture capital investment robust around the world.
VC-backed companies raised some $32 billion in the second quarter across 1,819 deals, bringing the first-half total raised globally to $59.8 billion, a 49% increase over the same period in 2014.
Funding this year is now on track to surpass the $88 billion invested in VC-backed companies last year.
Large deals are driving funding trends, mainly late-stage ones whose sizes are soaring worldwide, the report said.
Mega-round financings of $100 million and more to VC-backed companies are also on the rise. In the first half, upward of 100 mega-rounds cumulatively raised more than $16 billion in investment.
"Low interest rates combined with increasing participation by hedge funds, mutual funds and venture capital arms of large corporations means there is a tremendous availability of capital," Brian Hughes, national co-lead partner in KPMG's venture capital practice in the U.S., said in a statement.
The report noted that disruptive technologies and applications were also exciting interest and investment from VC funders.
As well, the continuing growth of on-demand platforms is expanding into new verticals in North America and beyond.
"Increasingly, VC-backed companies are staying private longer, and the best companies have a menagerie of funding options," CB Insights' chief executive Anand Sanwal said in the statement.
Sanwal said this helped buoy the second quarter globally. "While the funding environment is certainly frothy, we are seeing startups rapidly reshape markets ranging from transportation to hospitality to health care."
Globally, corporate investors continued to be a strong presence, having participated in about a quarter of total deals in the past four quarters.
In Asia, corporate investors participated in 32% of financing deals to Asian VC-backed companies during the second quarter, while North American and European corporates accounted for 23% and 22%, respectively, of VC-backed company financings.
