Over the second quarter of this year, 37 US venture capital funds raised around $2.7 billion, as the number of funds raising declined significantly but the total amount raised increased, new figures from Thomson Reuters and the National Venture Capital Association show.

The number of funds declined by 23 per cent compared to the same quarter a year earlier, but at $2.7 billion the total amount raised increased 28 per cent. For Q2 2010, 48 funds raised $2.1 billion.

For the first half of this year, venture capital raising hit $10.4 billion from 76 funds. This amount raised is 70 per cent more than in the first half of 2010, with the number of funds 15 per cent lower. In fact, for the first half the number of funds raising is the lowest since the first half of 1995, Thomson Reuters and NVCA say.

"The fact that the number of firms raising money successfully remains at such low levels confirms an ongoing contraction of the venture capital industry, which will serve well those funds that can obtain commitments – but that group is becoming more and more narrow," said Mark Heesen, president of the NVCA. 

In Q2, there were 24 follow-on funds compared to 13 new funds getting commitments, with the largest new fund reporting commitments being New York-based Level Equity Growth Partners I, which raised $120 million for its inaugural fund. Here, a “new” fund is defined as the first fund at a newly-established firm, although the general partner of that firm may have previous experience investing in venture capital.