Venture Capital Drought Worst Since 2003

Few sales and IPOs mean less payoff in the business of betting on startups

By JACKSON WEST
Updated 3:30 PM PST, Wed, Jul 1, 2009

TWITTER FACEBOOK

Times are tough on Sand Hill Road.  Well, not tough so much as awkward.
dmarino / Flickr

Venture-backed liquidity was down this quarter, and less than half what it was in the same quarter last year.

Venture capital firms fund companies in exchange for a stake in the business, and realize their gains when a company is sold or goes public.

While a venture-backed company did go public, ending a nine-month dry spell, acquisitions are also down.

The fall seems to correlate with lower sale prices for acquired startups.

The median price for venture-backed businesses was $22 million, compared to $41 million for the same period last year.

Photo by Flickr user dmarino.

Jackson West figures that if Twitter sells at its asking price, the gold rush is back on.

First Published: Jul 1, 2009 1:13 PM PST

TWITTER FACEBOOK

  • 0% furious 0
  • 0% sad 0
  • 0% bored 0
  • 0% thrilled 0
  • 0% intrigued 0
  • 0% laughing 0
processing
          No comments have been posted yet.

          You have 2000 characters left

          processing
          So My City

          You are posting in (change)

          550/550 characters

          (jpg, pngs, or gifs allowed)

          (jpg, pngs, or gifs allowed)
          *Tip: You can also post moments via email or Twitter.

          processing

          View Your Moment in

          Posted by | 1 second ago

          Don't Miss

          tech

          Nov 21, 2009

          Twitter Generation on Strike at UC Schools

          As a student strike expands, here's what Internet-generation kids are saying.

          Read It

          tech

          Nov 20, 2009

          Wake Up in the Alarm Clock Bed

          Designed by Florian Scharfer, Melted Clock is a wake-up call embedded in your sheets, with a clock display made out of silicone and electroactive polymers.

          Read It

          tech

          Nov 20, 2009

          Intel Researching Channel Surfing With Your Brain

          Using a remote control to change channels is just such a pain.

          Read It
          Loading...
          Birthdate:
          You must be at least 13 to sign up.
          Gender:
          invalid

          By clicking the button below, I accept the terms of use and privacy policy

          Already Signed Up? Login Below.

          processing
          Here's what we're posting:

          *Only used for verification. We do not store your password.
          processing