Venture Financing Report - 2014 Year in Review

Cooley is pleased to present our findings on venture financings for 2014, which can be found by clicking on the PDF link below. This report provides a summary of data reflecting our experience in venture capital financing terms and trends. Information is taken from transactions in which Cooley served as counsel to either the issuing company or the investors.

Overall, our data pointed to a banner year marked by record deal volumes and aggregate dollars raised. In 2014, we handled 540 disclosable transactions representing over $9.5 billion of invested capital. Median pre-money valuations climbed across all deal stages, reaching levels not seen in over six years. We saw another strong year in up versus flat/down rounds. Up rounds represented 80% of all financings in 2014. Deal terms reflected a company-friendly environment during the year. The utilization of fully participating preferred provisions decreased from 2013. Additionally, the percentage of deals structured in tranches and the percentage of recapitalization transactions also decreased during 2014.

New Data Visualization Tool on Cooley GO

Today we are launching an exciting new data visualization feature on the Trends section of Cooley GO, our microsite for entrepreneurs. Powered by Tableau, it allows you to drill down on data gleaned from thousands of the deals we've worked on with entrepreneurs from 2009 Q1 to 2014 Q4. The data you see there will be updated in conjunction with our quarterly VC Financing Reports.

We hope you find this Report and the new Cooley GO visualization tool helpful and informative. Please let us know what other information you would find useful by contacting any of the Cooley partners listed at the end of the report or your local Cooley counsel.

View the Report

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