April 3 (Reuters) - Global venture capital investments

fell to a near five-year low in the first three months of 2024,

according to investment intelligence firm PitchBook, as high

interest rates weighed on funding for companies despite big

investments in the AI space.

Investors poured $75.9 billion in the January-to-March

period, their lowest since the second quarter of 2019, PitchBook

data showed. The number of estimated deals also fell to a near

four-year low of 10,222, according to the data.

Tight monetary policy in the U.S. has contributed to a slow

revival in initial public offerings, hampering what is among the

biggest source of returns for venture capital firms, which

typically invest in startups and sell shares during IPOs.

"Large companies remain stuck private, weighing on returns

of the market and putting added pressure on investment and cash

runways," said Kyle Stanford, lead venture capital analyst at

PitchBook.

"We don't expect deal activity to pick up in a meaningful

way in the near term."

The value of exit deals by VC firms was also at a six-year

low of $234.3 billion last year, according to PitchBook data.

Exits for U.S.-based VC firms were the lowest since 2016.

The slowdown has been partially offset by a jump in funding

for AI start-ups, with a pick-up in tech IPOs in the first

quarter of 2024 marking another positive sign for VC funding.

AI start-ups raised $42.5 billion last year, which, although

lower from 2022, was a far lesser slowdown than the 42% decline

in broader VC funding, according to intelligence firm CB

Insights.

Top firms including Anthropic have raised billions of

dollars from backers including Amazon.com ( AMZN ).

With expectations of interest rate cuts later in the year,

bankers and investors expect more IPOs in the months ahead.