Venture capital firms invested $6.5 billion in 890 deals in the third quarter of 2012, down 11% from investments in the second quarter and with 5% fewer deals compared with three months earlier, according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data provided by Thomson Reuters.
Investment for the first three quarters of this year totaled $20 billion into 2,661 deals, making it unlikely firms will invest as much as they did last year, according to a news release. In 2011, venture capital firms invested $29.4 billion in 3,906 deals.
Early stage investment is also on the decline with $1.7 billion invested in early stage deals in the third quarter, down from $2.2 billion.