Venture Capital

Venture capital investments in U.S. start-ups climbed to a six-year high of $29.4 billion in 2007, raising hope that ample money will be available to back promising new ideas even if the staggering economy falls into a recession. The amount of venture capital spread across 3,813 deals represents the industry's busiest year since $40.6 billion went into nearly 4,500 U.S.

Venture capital investments in companies based in Southern California fell 25% in the last quarter of 2007, according to a report scheduled for release today. The fourth-quarter slump touched almost all sectors except electronics, communications and networking, the report from Dow Jones VentureSource said. Particularly hard-hit were semiconductor start-ups, which received $15 million, an 88% drop from $115 million in the same quarter in 2006.

In recent months, some start-up technology companies have died or gone into comas after running out of money, a possible early sign that the resurgence in venture investment may be coming to an end. File123 is counting its days. Edgeio was edged out. TripUp has fallen. BrightSpot went dark. Firebrand flamed out and Ezmo is no more. Industry analysts say this year will bring a big wave of start-up deaths as the credit crisis gripping the financial markets makes investors cautious in other areas.

After a strong showing last year, venture capital investments in greater Los Angeles slid 49% in the first quarter, according to a report scheduled for release today. Venture capitalists poured $202.3 million into companies based in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, down from $395.6 million during the same period last year, research firm Dow Jones VentureSource said.

A large investment in a renewable energy firm helped Los Angeles-area companies record a 33% jump in venture capital funding in the second quarter, bucking the national downward trend, according to a report scheduled for release today. The greater Los Angeles region received $415 million in investment, compared with $313 million in the same period last year, research firm Dow Jones VentureSource said.

Venture capitalists raised 5.5% less money from institutional investors in the third quarter than they did in the same period last year, the National Venture Capital Assn. said Monday. Investors including pension funds and endowments put $8.12 billion into funds that invest in start-up companies, compared with $8.6 billion a year earlier. The number of new venture funds fell by 29% to 55, the Arlington, Va.- based trade group said. Most of the decline came before the Sept.

Venture capital investment in Southern California surged 25% last year, dwarfing an 8% national gain and propelling the region past New England for the first time in five years, according to a study released Monday. Investors especially favored healthcare and information services firms in the area from San Diego to Santa Barbara, according to the report, produced by Dow Jones VentureOne for accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Interest in alternative fuel is heating up as global demand for clean technology turns the spotlight on the small California companies at the vanguard of environmental innovation. Courting the state's growing clean-tech small businesses are banks, federal export finance officials and even venture capitalists, who have traditionally shunned the capital-intensive sector.

A group of U.S. venture capital firms, including Disney's investment arm, was set to announce today that it had invested $23.5 million in UUSee, a major Chinese video website. UUSee distributes live and on-demand TV from CCTV, China's largest TV broadcaster; CSAT, China's largest satellite TV company; and Beijing TV. The investment round is being led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Highland Capital Partners. It included Steamboat Ventures, the venture-capital vehicle of Walt Disney Co.

Hundreds of miles north of here on the edge of the Mongolian steppes, Li Enhui is producing a "magic bag" to help China fight the fierce sandstorms that plague this city every spring. Li's water-saving pouch, which he says enables trees to thrive in desert conditions, was selected as a special technology project by the organizers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Hoping to host sandstorm-free games, the government is planting a "green wall" of trees around the capital to keep the desert at bay.