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VC 100: The Top Venture Capital Firms Backing U.S. Startups If you want to launch a business, it's critical to know the state of startup capital. As the VC market recovers, we look at the firms funding American innovation.

By Tanya Benedicto Klich

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The rise in venture capital funding in 2013 is proving that the industry still has legs despite hitting a post-recession trough in 2009. Venture capitalists invested $29.4 billion in 3,995 deals in 2013, an increase of 7 percent in dollars and a 4 percent increase in deals over the prior year, according to the PwC/NVCA MoneyTree™ Report.

The boost came from Internet companies, which captured $7.1 billion, the highest level of Internet investment since 2001. Investments into Software also reached the highest level since 2000.

Investments in seed and early stage companies rose by the double-digits, at 14 percent and 17 percent, respectively; while expansion and later stage rose by only 4 and 1 percent, respectively.

View the Full List: Entrepreneur's VC 100 & Interactive Timelines

For companies receiving venture capital for the first time, there was a 14 percent rise in dollars while the number of deals increased 3 percent compared to 2012. Industries receiving the most dollars in first-time financings in 2013 were Software, Biotechnology and Media & Entertainment.

Below is PitchBook's listing of the most active venture firms funding seed and early-stage companies in the U.S. To view the research platform's full VC 100 list, click here.

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Tanya Benedicto Klich

Data & Featured Lists Editor

Tanya Benedicto Klich is a data and lists editor at Entrepreneur.com.

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