Corporate & Securities Law

But I Thought Venture Capital was Dead?

By Ryan Roberts

I’ve been seeing nothing but doom and gloom articles recently: Our banks are going to fail, it will cost $200 to fill our cars with gas, and we’re all going to get kidney stones. And similar depressing articles have been en vogue regarding the venture capital industry.

But like a needle in a haystack, I found an uplifting article (dated today!) regarding the venture capital industry. A Businessweek article entitled What Capital Crunch? explains why the Silicon Valley is not experiencing a capital crunch. Here’s a key excerpt:

Some 71 venture capital funds raised $9.1 billion in the second quarter of 2008, up 3% from the year-ago quarter, according to a survey released July 14 by Thomson Reuters (TRI) and the National Venture Capital Assn. Investments in information technology, life sciences, and environmental technologies continue to drive the market. As the venture capital market becomes more global, Asia is emerging as an attractive location for investments.

The latest numbers signal that big investors are confident in the long-term future of the venture capital business. There does seem to be a flight to quality, however. The number of funds raised in the quarter fell 14%, down from 83 in the year-ago period.

Thus, I’m pretty sure I’ll use my mattress as an ATM and get kidney stones before the VC industry dies. Gas prices on the other hand…

Full post as published by The Startup Lawyer on July 14, 2008 (boomark / email).