San Francisco - During the fourth quarter, U.S. venture capital firms raised their lowest amount of VC since the first quarter of 2005, according to new figures from Dow Jones VentureOne.

Twenty-one funds raised $4.01 billion during the quarter, a decline of 51% in capital from the same period in 2005. Despite the slowdown, the firms raised virtually the same amount in 2006 as they did the prior year, only in about 30% fewer funds.

For the past two years, in fact, VentureOne said that the median fund size has topped $200 million, the highest medians on record.

"It remains to be seen whether the slowdown in 4Q will prove to be a sign of a curtailment of that trend, or just a short-term pause for venture capital funds," said Stephen Harmston, the director of global research for VentureOne.

"What is true is that venture capital funds in 2005 and 2006 have kept a very close pace with the amount of investment that is occurring."

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