Published by: VentureDeal

Summary

During the third quarter, 323 companies raised $1.95 billion in venture capital funding in the aggregate, down 8% in the number of companies funded and 20% less in the total funding amount versus Q3 08.

By sector, only the Internet sector showed a slight gain, with the Digital Media, eCommerce and Software sectors showing significant declines in both the amounts funded and the number of companies funded.

Funding Activity

Internet

Internet sector company fundings reversed their previous decline by eking out a small percentage again. The sector received $937 million in venture capital funding during the quarter, a 4% increase in funding allocated among 130 companies - a reduction of 9% in the number of companies funded.

A notable transaction during the quarter was online vacation rental website company HomeAway, which received a whopping $250 million for its late stage funding round. The company's websites help users to rent their vacation homes to vacationers.

Blip.tv, a video hosting site, secured $5.2 million in its second round of venture capital financing. The service is very simple to use and shows promise even against industry giant YouTube. In the social networking space, LinkedIn garnered $22.7 million in its series D venture funding round. LinkedIn is probably the premier business social networking site on the Internet.

A number of Internet media related sites also received funding: