According to the second quarter press release of  The MoneyTree Report by NVCA and PwC published today, venture capital investments in the US increased in Q2 2009 and totalled with $3.7 billion invested in 612 deals. Despite a 15 percent increase in dollars compared to the first quarter, the projected full year investing volume remains at mid 1990 levels (1996: $11 billion; 1997: $14 billion). Seed and early stage investments were up 67% in the second quarter. The Media and Entertainment sector was down 48%.

Analysis by sector (change vs. Q1):

• Life Sciences: $1.5 billion (+47%; 41% of total); 160 deals
• Biotechnology: $888 million (+54%); 85 deals
• Software: $644 million (flat); 135 deals
• Medical Devices: $628 million (+38%); 75 deals (+32%)
• Clean Technology: $274 million (+15%); 42 deals (flat)
• Internet: $524 million (-15%); 124 deals (-12%)
• Semiconductors: 5% decline to a 10-year low
• Media & Entertainment: 48% decline
• Telecommunications: 13% decline
• Networking and Equipment: 112% increase
• Computers and Peripherals: 262% increase
• IT Services: 28% increase

Analysis by investment stage (change vs. Q1):

• Seed and early stage: $1.5 billion (+67%); 221 deals
• Expansion stage: $1 billion (+19%); 172 deals
• Later stage: $1.2 billion (-20%); 207 deals

You can download the full report here (pdf).

The MoneyTree Report is a quarterly study of venture capital investment activity in the United States. As a collaboration between PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based upon data from Thomson Reuters