PRINT THIS PAGE US venture capital investment volume in second quarter at highest level since 200109/08/2007. Source: AltAssets. 
Venture capitalists invested $7.1bn in 977 deals in the US in the second quarter of 2007, the highest level of deals reported in a quarter since Q3 2001, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the US National Venture Capital Association based on data provided by Thomson Financial. The quarterly strength in the number of deals was driven by companies in the seed and early stages of development, which increased by 31 per cent from the prior quarter, the report found.
Venture capitalists invested $1.6bn into 378 seed and early stage deals in the second quarter of this year, compared to $1.3bn into 289 deals in the first quarter of 2007. Seed/early stage deals accounted for 39 per cent of total deal volume in the second quarter, compared to 34 per cent in the first quarter.
Investment for the second quarter in expansion stage deals was $2.4bn in 303 deals, representing 31 per cent of deal volume. In the first quarter $2.9bn was invested in 287 expansion stage deals, representing 34 per cent of total deal volume.
Later stage deals held fairly steady in volume but decreased in dollars in the second quarter with $3.1bn going into 296 deals, representing 30 per cent of total investments. In the first quarter, $3.2bn went into 269 later stage deals (32 per cent of the volume).
Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, said, 'Not only does the increase in seed and early stage deals demonstrate the number of young, promising opportunities available, but the diversity of investment strongly suggests that the prospects for innovation are all around us. The industry is not relying on one particular sector for deals. Even better, dollars invested are holding steady or even declining, suggesting that venture capitalists are being very measured about how much money they invest per company.'
'Based upon what we have seen in the first half of 2007, we may be looking at a new six-year high in VC investments,' added Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of the venture capital practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. 'Venture capitalists have found no shortage of promising companies in which to invest, as indicated by the sharp up tick in the number of deals during the second quarter. Innovation is alive and well, and VCs are making sure these companies are provided with the opportunity to become the Fortune 500 powerhouses of tomorrow.'
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