Venture capital funding for Connecticut startups dwindled from $364.3 million in 2007 to $142.9 million in 2008, according to Dow Jones VentureSource.
The 60.1 percent drop in Connecticut dwarfed the national average of 8.3 percent. Rounds of funding dropped from 29 in 2007 to 25 last year.
“The data confirms what we’ve been hearing anecdotally for some time that many venture capital firms are circling the wagons to weather the downturn and are focusing more on the health and vitality of current portfolio companies rather than new investments,” said Jessica Canning, director of Global Research for Dow Jones VentureSource.
Nationwide, $28.8 billion was invested over 2,550 deals. California topped all other states with $14.6 billion in venture funding over 1,121 deals, and total venture dollars dropped only 1.5 percent.
Funding in Massachusetts dropped from $3.7 billion to $3.1 billion, a 16 percent decline.
