Is the venture industry shrinking? It's still too early to say, but anecdotal evidence keeps gathering.
Only eight new firms raised money from institutional investors during the third quarter, the lowest number for at least two years, and possibly longer (we're checking). The data was compiled by Thomson Financial and the National Venture Capital Assocation.
Including existing venture capital firms, some 59 firms raised $6 billion, also a drop from the previous quarter. However, unless we see further drops, this still doesn't mean much, because venture firms tend to raise money in packs, and the money raised doesn't suggest any significant serious drop-off -- at least, yet. The full analysis, including how early stage firms were well represented this time around, is here.