There have been numerous articles and blog posts on the death of the venture capital model.[1] Only six companies that were venture capital backed went public in 2008, the lowest number since 1970.  There were also very few acquisitions of venture backed companies.[2] As a result, many venture capital firms are likely to disappear in the next couple of years.

Historically, venture capital funds have invested in a limited number of companies and taken an active part in the oversight of the companies.  Sarbanes Oxley and the likelihood of more financial regulation threaten the ability of start-up companies to go public.  Without a robust IPO market, it is unlikely that M&A activity will result in strong valuations.  Additionally, many IT start-up companies have low capital requirements and can forego traditional venture capital investments.