High Rollers

Entrepreneurs were the big winners in 2007, receiving more than $7 billion in venture capital a quarter for four straight quarters--a phenomenon not seen since 2001. Venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,813 deals in 2007, marking the highest yearly investment total since 2001, according to a special analysis of the "MoneyTree Report" prepared exclusively for Entrepreneur by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data from Thomson Reuters. The total invested in 2007 represents a 10.8 percent increase in dollars and a 5 percent increase in deal volume over 2006.

Companies in the seed/early stage of development received more dollars in 2007, with investments rising 21 percent from the prior year to total $6.3 billion. On average, these companies received $4.5 million each. At the same time, first-time financings reached a six-year high as venture capitalists placed more initial bets in companies across multiple sectors, with 1,267 companies taking home a total of $7.2 billion.