SAN JOSE, Calif. — Money is flowing into Silicon Valley to find the next big thing at the highest rate since the dot-com boom — and there does not seem to be a bubble in sight.
In 2017, venture capital firms in the United States dished out $84 billion to 8,000 technology startups and companies, the highest amount of capital seen since the early 2000s, according to an annual industry monitor from the research firm Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association.
But unlike before, when many venture capital firms lost their money when the dot-com bubble burst, both organizations noted a healthier ecosystem. One reason is that most of the $84 billion went to large, high-value companies with an established customer base rather than risky, early-stage startups.
The ride-hailing platform Lyft and the shared-office business WeWork were some of the largest venture capital deals in the United States in 2017, receiving $3 billion and $1.5 billion, respectively. Unicorns — private companies valued at more than $1 billion, like Lyft and WeWork — received $19.2 billion, or 22.8 percent of all investments.
