MoreLIP: The Numbers Shrink, But the Pecking Order Remains

While 2009 recorded a significant drop (37%) in overall venture funding, the pain was at least widely shared. Money Tree's just-released numbers largely confirm that the major players did fewer new deals, likely stockpiling cash for existing potential portfolio firms.

California still attracted 50% of the money, spread across 41% of the dollars invested. Massachusetts remained second, with about 11% of both the money and the deal count, followed by New York, Texas, Washington and Colorado.

Many of the fly-over states will see a more encouraging statistic drawn from the Money Tree report in the share of funds invested in the seed and startup category -- more than 18% of the deals and 19% of the money. That's roughly triple both deal flow and funding reported during the mid-years of the Aughts. It's relative, but a relative like your favorite uncle.

We've pieced together some of the state-by-state information from the report for your convenience.