Venture investments in Q3 2004 fell by 15% (VentureOne) or by 26% (PWC)

After five consecutive quarters of robust growth, the research concern VentureOne found, the amount venture capitalists invested fell 15% in Q3 2004 to $4.6 bln, from $5.4 bln in Q2 2004. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, venture investing in Q3 fell by 26%, in dollar terms, from Q2. The 601 deals that venture capitalists consummated from July through September were the fewest in any quarter since 1996.

At the height of the Internet boom, venture firms collectively invested $23 bln to $29 bln a quarter. That figure plummeted to less than $5 bln a quarter by mid-2002 and held steady in the $4 bln range through Q3 of 2003. But venture investing jumped 36% from Q4 of last year to the second quarter this year, to $5.9 bln, the MoneyTree survey showed.