Although not completely immune from our financial mess, VCs are flush with cash and still doing deals. FastCompany has an analysis of the current state of the VC backed part of the economy, which seems to be somewhat insulated from the economic storm:
It may seem sanguine to use the word “haven,” since no corner of the economy is impervious to larger trends. But because venture capitalists work on long fundraising timetables and deal in liquid money, faltering banks and crises of credit don’t effect VC funds as acutely as they do other institutions. That means startups can continue be free to innovate and grow, with money in the bank.
Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that angel money is still flowing, as well, although many angels seem to be getting more cautious and putting more of their investments into cash.
(Thanks to Jim Stefansic for passing this along).