The VC industry is reeling from the breakneck pace of dealmaking in 2021. Here are the trends shaping tech's spending spree.

• Venture capitalists are plowing more money than ever into privately-owned startups.
• But the availability of capital means those same investors have to work harder to nab deals.
• Here's a rundown of the trends that are driving record dealmaking in Startupland.

The venture industry warned of a "black swan" at the start of the pandemic. Instead, they got a golden goose.

The stock market rallied, and privately owned tech companies joined a parade of initial public offerings with strong debuts. Their exits gave firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital some of their best returns ever.

Now, investors are spreading around their new wealth to the next generation of startups.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Founders are raking in funding at record valuations. It's great news for companies, but the blistering pace of dealmaking means venture capitalists have to work smarter to stake their claim in the hottest deals. They're moving faster on deals and sweetening their offers with more favorable terms, Insider's reporting has shown.

Here's a rundown of the trends that are shaping venture's spending spree.

Read more:

• Startup valuations are breaking records. Here's how founders are getting better deals than ever - and why some VCs are changing up how they approach deals.
• 2021 is shattering records for IPOs. Here are the biggest winners.
• More unicorns were created in the second quarter than all of 2020, as 2021 venture funding continues to break records. Here are all 136 of them.
• 51 startups became unicorns in June, more than 2 per business day. Here's the full list.
• Some VC firms are looking to raise bonuses next year as the hiring market remains red-hot, a new survey shows
• Savvy investors are buying stock in hot startups before they go public through an 'addicting' method called special purpose vehicles. Here's how they work.

The winners

We're keeping tabs on the venture capitalists who are edging out the competition and reaping huge returns.

Read more:

• Hedge fund Tiger Global is beating out Silicon Valley VCs and averaging more than one startup investment per business day so far this year. Here's 110 of them.
• VC firm DCM quietly blows out its top tier competitors by generating 30x fund returns. Its secret: Not drinking the Silicon Valley 'Kool-Aid.'
• VC firm IVP has already achieved the holy grail in the world of venture: a fund that's generated an astounding 10x return for its investors.
• Lightspeed China's Herry Han turned a $13 million bet on Full Truck Alliance into $626 million. It all started after he missed a call to invest in Didi.
• VCs SoftBank, Tiger Global, and IVP are big winners in an IPO blitz that saw 17 companies go public this week
• 8 multi-billion IPOs that cemented Andreessen Horowitz's power
• Andreessen Horowitz made so much money on Coinbase, it may have banked enough to repay its last two funds totaling $4.5 billion
• In a rare move for the VC industry, Pegasus Tech Ventures, a VC firm that helps Asian corporations buy into hot startups, just bought a boutique Silicon Valley VC firm
• Alexis Ohanian's Seven Seven Six has been on a dealmaking tear since it launched 9 months ago. Here are all 20 of its investments.

The money is flowing beyond Silicon Valley

The pandemic made investing faster and less formal, often over Zoom - and also easier to do outside of Silicon Valley.

Read more:

• Silicon Valley continues its 2021 funding hot streak with a second straight quarter over $20 billion
• Venture capital is pouring into Miami, doubling last quarter, with hot startups like Pipe and PayCargo leading the way
• SoftBank VCs are moving to Miami to run a $100 million fund because the tech scene there is 'real'
• VCs in Canada have already plowed twice as much funding into startups as they did all of last year. Here are the 5 most active investors across the Great White North.