Venture Capital Funding and M&A Quarterly
Internet • Digital Media • eCommerce • Software
1st Quarter, 2009 – United States
Published by: VentureDeal
Summary
During the first quarter, 255 companies raised $1.42 billion in venture capital funding in the aggregate, down 21 % in the number of companies funded and 27 % less in the total funding amount versus Q4 08.
By sector, only the eCommerce and Digital Media sectors showed gains, with the Internet 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 small funding gain by a
large drop in fundings. The sector received $488 million in venture capital funding during
the quarter, a 48% decrease in funding allocated among 100 companies - a reduction of 23% in the number of companies funded.
A notable transaction during the quarter was automobile shopping company Zag.com,
which received $37.4 million for its late stage funding round. The company has created
automobile shopping, research and pricing technology enabling customers to obtain the best pricing.
Twitter, an SMS messaging service, secured $35 million in its fourth round
of venture capital financing. The service is very simple to use and functions
effectively as a real-time Internet search service. Pop culture site Buzznet.com
garnered $12 million in its series C venture funding round. The company said it would
use the funding to fuel continued growth of its popular culture properties.
A few Internet travel related sites also received funding: