The Wall Street Journal recently reported on Venture Capital (VC) trends for 2009 compared to the last few years.  As expected, numbers are down quite a bit this year but VC trends for 2010 are looking strong.

Here is a breakdown in the numbers reported by the WSJ & VentureSource:

Venture Capital Investments 2009 through 3rd Quarter:
- 2009 – $14.6 billion (down 41%)
- 2008 – $25 billion (down 19%)
- 2007 – $31 billion

Funds raised through IPOs by companies backed by Venture Capital:
- 2009 – $683.4 million (up 24%)
- 2008 – $550.6 million (down 92%)
- 2007 – $6.8 billion

Funds raised through Mergers & Acquisitions by companies backed by Venture Capital:
- 2009 – $9.1 billion (down 56%)
- 2008 – $20.5 billion

The Wall Street Journal predicted these sectors to expected growth and opportunity for Venture Capital in 2010 – social networking technology, mobile technologies, health care technology, and clean technology.