Venture-capital investment in Washington State reported a fall to its lowest level in six years, depicting signs of spreading out those fewer dollars among more companies and year of dismay for any startup that wanted to raise money in 2009.

The unstable economy has signified that startups are less likely to find buyers or complete initial public offerings. Venture capitalists, in turn, have a harder time seeing returns on their investments, making them less likely to invest in new companies.

Jeff Fagnan, a partner at venture capital firm Atlas Venture, cited, "I think 'triage' was the most overused word in venture capital in 2009", while explaining that firms were assessing their current investments to decide where to put more money and where to cut off investments.

The net venture-investment made in Washington State witnessed a decrease to $555 million in 2009, compared with $935 million the previous year, a squeeze of 41 percent. Just two years ago, in 2007, a total of $1.4 billion was invested.

The decline in Washington State's venture investment in turn reflected the national investment figures, which fell 37 percent in investment dollars to $17.7 billion invested in 2009 - the lowest amount since 1997.

Tracy Lefteroff, global managing partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers' venture capital practice, offered a positive spin by revealing that they are in a process to make the companies they invest in more financially efficient amidst such a afflicting scenario.