In the first quarter of 2013, Venture Capital investment in US companies has slowed for the third consecutive quarter since peaking in the second quarter of 2012, with 753 deals closed and 6,000 M$ of total amount invested.

Early stage investment has been the segment that has reduced its activity the most.

The early stage has gone from accounting for 50% of the number of deals closed in 1Q 2012 to around 35% in 1Q 3013. The space left has been taken up by both seed and more mature deals.

"Seed deals suffered the most with very low levels in 2009. They were closing between 60-70 deals per quarter and investing between 50-60 M$. But it has also been the one that has recovered the best and this quarter has meant 219 transactions with 196 M$. In addition, as a result of a greater supply of money, median valuations have improved substantially, reaching 5.38M$ compared to the 4-4.5M$ that had been maintained since 1Q 2011" comments Diego Gutierrez, an expert in corporate finance at ABRA INVEST.

It is taking longer and longer to get second rounds.

The time between the first round or seed round and the second round has increased by almost 50%. It has gone from 0.89 years in 4Q 2012 to 1.2 years in 1Q 2013. This is the highest level since 2010.

Mature stage deals have declined but not as much as early stage deals, with 239 deals for a total of 4,100M$ invested. Software continues to be the sector with the most activity, accounting for 35%. "By sector, business services has doubled its share. In 1Q 2012 it accounted for 6% of deals and 4% of capital invested, when in 1Q 2013 it has been 12% of deals with 10.4% of capital invested" points out Diego Gutierrez.

The most active VCs in 1Q 2013 were: