Investors committed just $2.3bn (€2.1bn) to US venture capital funds in the first half of 2003, the lowest amount raised in any six-month period since 1995, according to new figures.

Data published by VentureOne, the research firm, and Ernst & Young, the accountancy firm, showed how far venture capital, or early-stage private equity investment, has fallen out of fashion. The $2.3bn raised in the first six months of this year pales into insignificance in comparison with 2000, when $25bn was raised in a single quarter. It is also below the amount raised in any single quarter of 2002.