US VC Investments Down 61% in 1Q09

Reports from Mercury Press highlight the continuing decline of Venture Capital in the US:

Nationally, VCs invested $3 billion into U.S. companies, down 61 percent from the $7.7 billion invested in the first quarter of 2008. It was smallest quarterly sum since 1997, and the sharpest decline on record.

In the Bay Area, the world’s leading hub of innovation, $1.2 billion was invested in 172 deals during the quarter. That was a 43 percent decrease in dollars and 26 percent decrease in “deal flow” from the previous quarter.