Venture capitalists will have plenty of dough to invest over the next three to five years. New stats from the National Venture Capital Association and Thompson Financial show that fundraising in 2007 reached its highest level since 2001.
For the year, VCs raised $34.7 billion and closed 235 funds, up 9.4% from $31.6 billion in 2006.
Balanced-stage funds raised the most, with $10.6 billion, followed by early-stage funds ($9.7 billion), later-stage vehicles ($7.2 billion) and expansion funds ($4.8 billion). In 2001, by comparison, VCs raised $38.8 billion for 318 funds.
