2018 saw the highest level of venture capital funding since 2000, the last year of the dot-com bubble, according to the latest PwC/CB Insights MoneyTree Report released early Monday.

For the year, $207 billion was invested in 14,247 deals across the global, a 21 percent rise over 2017. Total funding in the U.S. increased by 30 percent for the year, coming in at $99.5 billion across 5,536 deals.

Within the year, some 382 fundings were $100 million-plus “megarounds,” up from 266 in 2017, with 184 of those coming from the U.S. In terms of “unicorns,” companies with a valuation of $1 billion or higher, the U.S. saw the creation of 53 new ones in 2018 versus 29 in 2017. The fourth quarter alone saw 21 “unicorn births,” the highest ever recorded in a single quarter.

Artificial intelligence, digital health and financial technology companies led the pack, with AI-related funding jumping 72 percent, to $9.3 billion. By geography, VC funding in the San Francisco region jumped 55 percent, to $28 billion, and New York funding reached $13 billion.

Despite the record numbers, the fourth quarter did see a decline in deals globally, except in Asia where activity continued to rise. Venture capital investments in Asia rose 42 percent in 2018 versus 2017 with an 11 percent increase in the amount of money invested. Asia broke records across the board, in fact, with a 35 percent in megarounds, to 162, and a 60 percent jump in the creation of unicorns, with 40 coming of age during the year.

The report doesn’t come to any conclusions for the year ahead, but the fact that 2018 saw the highest level of VC since 2000 should be noted. That year was the last of the dot-com bubble, with markets hitting their peak on March 10, 2000.

Coming into 2019, stock markets are already down from record highs, partially thanks to trouble with Apple Inc., but they also have further to fall than was the case in 2000. In March 2000 the Nasdaq hit 5,048.62. Today it’s at 6,738.86, though that’s down from 8,109.69 in August.

In other findings, there’s a clear slowdown in funding for middle-stage companies, both in Asia and the U.S. Although early startups still command interest and late-stage companies with their megarounds make the overall numbers look positive, the trends — in the U.S. at least — all point to reduced funding in the year ahead.

Whether the market drops slowly or in a crash is yet to be seen. But either way, investors across the globe are looking at the weeks and months ahead with concern.

Photo: shannonclark/Flickr