New Delhi, Oct 20 (IANS): Global VC investment fell for the third straight quarter, from $136.8 billion in the second quarter of 2022 to $87 billion in the third quarter of 2022, a new report said on Thursday.

According to the Q3'22 edition of Venture Pulse -- a quarterly report, published by KPMG Private Enterprise, the number of global VC deals dropped from 10,425 in the second quarter of 2022 to 7,817 in the third quarter of 2022 -- the lowest level in almost five years.

"Significant market volatility, ongoing geopolitical and economic turmoil, including fears of a recession, have led to a continued and significant cooling of global VC funding," Jonathan Lavender, Global Head, KPMG Private Enterprise, KPMG International, said in a statement.

"Despite five deals closing with values over $1 billion, the VC environment has seen the overall number of deals drop to its lowest levels since 2017 and the value of those deals slump to mid-2020 levels; the peak of the pandemic and lockdowns," Lavender added.

The US accounted for $43 billion in VC investment in the third quarter of 22, nearly half of the global total.

VC investment across the Americas declined from $76.6 billion to $45.6 billion quarter-over-quarter.

Meanwhile, Europe experienced a sharp drop in VC investment between the second quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2022, from $31 billion to $18.7 billion.