Yesterday, the National Venture Capital Association released VC fundraising figures for Q2 2010. The $1.9 billion raised in this past quarter represents a 56% drop from the $4.4 billion raised in the same period in 2009, and is the weakest fundraising experienced by the VC industry since Q3 2003.
Dealbook reports on some commentary from Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA:
“With the U.S. economy on shaky ground, investors are becoming more reluctant to gamble on more speculative sectors such as venture capital.”
But is the U.S. economy shakier than it was during Q2 of 2009? Seems to me that lower fundraising “performance” is perhaps due not just to negative impacts from the economic cycle but also to the trend of raising smaller funds / rise of micro-VCs & super-angels? And those, of course, have popped up in large part because of the capital efficiency of internet and consumer-web startups, so perhaps “lower” fundraising will become the new status quo? Read more about the seed fund phenomenon here.
Bottom line: I wonder if the situation is a bit more nuanced than just the “shakiness of the U.S. economy,” as Mark Heesen explained?
Thoughts?
