Startups raise $80 million in April

Data collected by TheMarker shows that 11 startups raised $80 million in April, pointing to the second quarter getting off to a lame start. The money was raised in private placements, and comes to the sum Chiaro Networks raised two months ago in a single financing round.

The capital raised in April reflects investments in the second quarter coming to $240 million. This could mean venture capital investments are sliding further. According to the Money Tree quarterly survey of accounting firm Kesselman & Kesselman PricewaterhouseCooper published last week, financing rounds in the first quarter came to $344 million.

However, one should take note of what accountant Joseph Fellus, hi-tech senior partner at Kesselman & Kesselman PricewaterhouseCoopers had to say on the occasion of the release of the Money Tree survey. He said that first-quarter data is somewhat misleading, given that in the first quarter there were three massive financing rounds by Chiaro, Mellanox Technologies and Atrica. The companies together accounted for 60% of total investments in the first quarter, Fellus said, the other companies raising just $133 million.

With this data in mind, the second quarter appears relatively good.