, Columnist
Silicon Valley's Soft Landing
Venture capital firms pull back on startup bets.
This article is for subscribers only.
Something weird happened in Silicon Valley during the tail end of 2015. People came to grips with reality.
In the prior 18 months or so, unproven young technology companies sold unprecedented amounts of stock at will. The money has become a bit harder to come by. Venture capital firms -- those seeking to find and fund the next Google or Facebook -- made $27.3 billion worth of investments in startups during the fourth quarter, a decline of about 30 percent from the three months ended in September, according to preliminary data from research firm CB Insights.