Data from PwC shows that tech deals have now surpassed the peak of the 2000 dot-com bubble
For those of us who lived through the 2000 dot com bubble - and the crash that followed - this chart will bring a chill of recognition: The value of software investment deals in Q2 2015 surpassed the peak of Q2 2000, according to PwC, which has a web site that tracks these things. Fifteen years ago, that peak of $7 billion in deals was followed directly by a crash and the post-2000 recession.
And now we're back:
Now, before you freak out, there are some important caveats to be mentioned.
The data here only includes software deals. If you slice the data into different tech segments, like devices or media & entertainment, then we still remain below the 2000 peak. But no matter how you cut the data, it's clear that 2015 is shaping up to be a very big year indeed. Q2 2015 is already bigger than any quarter in 2014, for instance, and any quarter since 2000.
It's not clear whether PwC's numbers account for inflation. If the numbers were adjusted, the the current peak may not be bigger than previous peak.
The number of deals done is smaller than the 2000 peak. There were 491 software deals in Q2 2015 and 601 in Q2 2000.
The tech industry today is very different from the bubble of 2000. Back then, companies were staging IPOs even though they had no revenue. Today, the largest new tech companies all have some revenue or obvious future revenue models that can be switched on at any time.