Venture capital (VC) is the financing of start-ups and small businesses by investment banks, private investors and other financial institutions. As a form of private equity funding, venture capitalists try to assess and invest in startups that will have a long-term return potential. In 2020, North America had the highest value of VC deal funding globally, totaling over *** billion U.S. dollars in financing. How many VC deals have been completed in each region? In 2020, North America dominated the VC financing scene in terms of the value of deals closed that year, followed by Asia and then Europe. Similarly, the highest volume of VC financing deals was also closed in North America – just under ***** deals in total. Following the pattern of deal value, Asia had the second-highest number of VC financing deals closed, and Europe the third-highest. Impact of COVID-19 on stock indices worldwide As of the first quarter of 2021, the internet industry in the U.S. saw the highest value of venture capital investment – almost ** billion U.S. dollars in funding. This was followed by the healthcare and mobile and telecommunications industries, although with significantly less funding in comparison to the internet industry. Overall, the value of venture capital funding invested in the United States in 2020 amounted to more than *** billion dollars – an increase compared to the previous year, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.