After a year of pandemic-driven turbulence that suppressed fundraising and deal activity, private markets rebounded across the board. Fundraising was up by nearly 20 percent year over year to reach a record of almost $1.2 trillion; deal makers were busier than ever, deploying more than $3.5 trillion across asset classes; and assets under management (AUM) grew to an all-time high of $9.8 trillion as of July, up from $7.4 trillion the year before.
Venture capital (VC) continued to attract capital on the back of a decade of strong performance but was outpaced by growth equity. With increased funding for VC and companies remaining private for longer, the investable universe of growth companies has expanded substantially.