Venture funds get lean
Another venture fund has raised a new fund. In March Squoia Capital which funded Yahoo and Google, raised a $395M fund, which was 43% smaller than its previous one raised in 2000. Now ComVentures has rasied a $300M fund that is 45% smaller than its last fund raised in 2000. According to this San Francisco Chronicle story:
As of the second quarter of 2003, more than $70 billion raised by venture funds hasn't been invested, Taylor said. That figure, known in the industry as "dry powder" or "overhang," suggests that venture capitalists are hard-pressed to find opportunities they believe will yield profit.
...In the second quarter of 2003, venture capitalists invested $4.3 billion in 669 transactions, for an average deal size of $6.4 million, according to the venture association's Taylor. That's down from an average deal size of $13 million in the first quarter of 2000, when venture capitalists invested $28.6 billion in 2,164 transactions.