PRINT THIS PAGE US venture fundraising in 2007 reaches highest level since 200116/01/2008. Source: AltAssets. 
Last year a total of 235 US venture capital firms raised $34.7bn - the highest level since 2001 when venture capitalists raised $38.8bn in 318 funds, according to Thomson Financial and the US National Venture Capital Association. The number of funds raised in 2007 increased by a modest 2.6 per cent from 2006, while dollar value increased by 9.4 per cent from 2006.
Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA, said, 'The consistent and consecutive annual increases in venture capital fund levels reflect both an acceleration of the fundraising cycle as well as an increased need for capital within certain investment sectors.
'Venture firms are investing in many capital-intensive industries such as life sciences and clean technology where the dollars required and time spent with the companies are both very high. As firms deploy capital faster they will have to go back out to the market sooner or raise larger funds. Still, on the positive side, we are nowhere near the unsustainable fundraising levels of the 1999 to 2001 period when the industry raised more than $200bn,' Heesen added.
In 2007, 112 early stage-focused funds raised $9.7bn, 63 balanced stage-focused funds raised $10.6bn, 24 later stage-focused funds raised $7.2bn and 22 expansion-focused funds raised $4.8bn.
'While dollars raised in 2007 approached 2001 levels, the composition of these dollars based on fund stage focus stands in stark contrast to the composition seen in 2001,' said Alex Tan, global manager for private equity content operations at Thomson Financial. 'Today's composition consists of a broad diversification across early, balanced, later, and expansion-focused funds, compared to the beginning of the decade when funds were focused almost exclusively on the early and balanced stages.'
The largest funds raised in the year were Technology Crossover Ventures VII ($3bn, later stage), Bessemer Venture Partners VII ($1.3bn, balanced stage) and Vector Capital IV ($1.2bn, expansion stage).
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