Venture-capital funding in 2017 was the highest it’s been in the past 10 years

Venture-capital funding is booming in the United States.

According to Pitchbook data charted for us by Statista, startup funding reached a record decade-long high in 2017, with $84.2 billion in funding raised over the course of the year.

Pitchbook’s findings indicate the tech industry is becoming a key investment in the US.

In a statement, PitchBook CEO John Gabbert told The Straits Times that 2017’s total funding rivaled the VC funding of the early mid to late ’90s: “While the figures are comparable to the dot-com era, the VC ecosystem appears healthy and driven by different dynamics, [and] later-stage companies with strong consumer traction are commanding large rounds of financing.”

For now, many analysts predict the tech bubble isn’t anywhere close to bursting, which means funding in 2018 could possibly skyrocket as well.