The Venture Edge

Peter reported on a very upbeat VC study in his his last post.  I'm not disagreeing with the study, but I'm not sure I'm ready to declare anything close to robust investment activity.  The reason I'm skeptical is that the most recent MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association (July 21, 2009) is claiming that although there's an "overall increase in investment levels...," the number of deals has remained flat at 1996/1997 levels. 

According to a recent article in the New York Times, a survey by the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University shows that venture capital firms are alive and well -- and investing in all sorts of enterprises. Last spring, researchers at the Graziado School surveyed 185 venture firms. Of these 185 firms, 46 percent said they planned to make at least two investments over the next 12 months within their current fund, and 54 percent said they planned to make three or more investments. As the pictured graph shows, the majority of VC investments are made in technology firms, with software, medical devices, and biotech leading the way. Financial services and consumer products companies are also-rans when it comes to attracting VC investments.