This article was published on October 13, 2009

US Venture Capital Activity Up 14% In Q3


US Venture Capital Activity Up 14% In Q3

vc dude

The venture capital market, always a bellwether indicator of entrepreneurial activity, is recovering in the United States after an extended slump coinciding with the global recession. Total venture capital (VC) investment in the third quarter of 2009 edged up a satisfying 14% to 6.1 billion USD.

This information comes from a report released by ChubbyBrain. It states that some 680 deals were completed, with 40% taking place in September. Of course, major investments such as Twitter’s $100 million dollar round do swing the needle, but the deal volume was quite healthy, and rose along with total dollars spent. Are you looking to raise money? It seems that now is a great time to do so in the United States.

Of course, this does little for non-US companies looking to raise funds. Who wants to raise capital in dollars, only to have to pay extremely disadvantageous exchange rates to get it out of the country? The opposite is also true, VC funds in other nations are even more attractive to US entrepreneurs at the moment, as the new company would benefit from the weak dollar while bringing Pounds or Euro home.

Finally, we can all take heart that VC’s are still investing in the internet. Of all the deal volume, 29% went to internet startups. The internet just edged out healthcare startups, which came in at 28% for deal volume. Mobile and telecommunications startups came in third, at 8%. If you are a reader of the Inc. magazine, you will recall a similar stratification among the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest growing private companies .

This casts a positive light over the Valley before we head into a holiday shopping season that is doubtful to put smiles on the face of any retailer. Consumers have closed their wallets at the same time the venture capitalists have opened theirs. Best dust off that business plan.

Hat tip to VentureBeat for the image.

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.