Venture capital investment in Michigan is reported to stick to its downward performance in the first quarter, highlighting the presence of tough financing scenario for fledgling companies in the state.

In a move that marks the evident turnaround in the venture capital (VC) arena, veteran VC firm Battery Ventures recently announced that it has closed its $750 million ninth fund – BV IX – which gives it almost $4 billion under management. The company revealed that nearly 85 percent repeat investors and 15 percent new investors provided the capital base for BV IX.

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.