Finance
2012 tech outlook: It's glass half-full for VCs, survey says
A Polachi poll shows that venture capitalists are somewhat optimistic about the future of the technology industry, despite recent economic duress.
Business search services firm Polachi has a new survey out evaluating the confidence of American venture capitalists in the technology market, and it's a nice little window into a world that's designed to take the long view.
The big takeaway? It's a slightly more glass-half-full view, despite the economic difficulties in Europe and elsewhere.
The rundown:
- Sixty-five percent said they are more confident and optimistic about the economy today compared to a year ago.
- Almost 76 percent believe the economic outlook is improving.
- On the other hand, 75 percent view the Europe's economic crisis as a business hurdle.
- ...and only 13 percent believe there are more available funds in 2012 than in 2011.
The poll touched on trends, too.
Such as:
- Twenty-four percent believe the friendly war between the East and West coasts over innovation leadership has "enhanced the outlook and industry pace."
- However, te American West led the way in terms of interest for VCs, with 53 percent citing it as an area of interest. The East trailed at 34 percent.
- Meanwhile, the Midwest came in at just 4 percent; outside the U.S. came in at just 9 percent, demonstrating that VCs prefer to stay near home.
- Forty-five percent said cloud computing is the most important trend for VCs. (Glass half full or empty here? I'm not sure.)
- Sixty-one percent said the Facebook IPO will impact future technology IPOs. (For better or worse.)
All this stands in stark contrast to what we've been hearing lately from CEOs, who are focused on the next quarter.