San Francisco -- Venture capital investing increased slightly last year, with companies raising a total of $21.7 billion in 2,939 deals, according to the newly released MoneyTree Survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association. The $21.6 billion invested in 2004 had marked the first increase in venture capital investing after three straight years of declines. Investments in the fourth quarter were down slightly from the prior quarter. The trend was similar locally, with Silicon Valley companies raising $1.8 billion, down from $2.1 billion the previous quarter and $1.95 billion the previous year.
http://www.nvca.org/
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