Singapore, April 24, 2008: Venture capitalists invested US$7.1 billion in 922 deals in the first quarter of 2008, according to the MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the US National Venture Capital Association (NVCA).

"Despite the current economic downturn in the United States, venture capitalists are still putting money to work across multiple industries and stages of development,” said Mr Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA.

Mr Mark Heesen said, “The continued interest in the life sciences and clean technology industries, as well as the traditional IT sectors, reflects the long term investment horizon that the venture industry has always embraced. We do not expect to see significant declines in investment levels in the coming year. However, the dollars going to later stage investments could increase if the IPO window remains closed for an extended period of time and venture capitalists have to sustain companies longer than expected."

The Life Sciences sector (Biotechnology and Medical Devices combined) continued to dominate VC investing in the first quarter with US$2.3 billion going into 220 deals, approximately the same amount that was invested in the fourth quarter of 2007.