The Wall Street Journal summarizes the current situation on venture funding in an article titled ”Venture Capitalists Pay Less to Invest in High-Tech Firms” as:
“For the first time since the boom in venture capital began five years ago, prices are falling in all stages of high-technology finance. Venture money is still abundant, and the private market value of some young companies are continuing to rise. Overall, however, venture investors are paying 20% less for deals than a year ago; for companies that haven’t lived up to their promise, prices are off by 50% or more.”
This message is consistent with what we are hearing and seeing in the market.
Remarkably the article was published on May 4th, 1984.
As Carl Sagan said: “You have to know the past to understand the present.”