Fund sizes, therefore, returned to more historical means in the years following the crash. However, in 2005, limited partners raised a significant amount of money, and capital contnbutions into venture funds rivaled those of 2000 and 2001. Several billion-dollar funds have since been raised. As a result, one clear and imminent change in the industry is the convergence of venture capital and private equity. Many venture funds will continue to engage primarily in later-stage, pnvate equity-style transactions. At the same time, many pnvate equity firms and hedge funds take an opportunistic approach more commonly found with venture capital firms. I think the investment firm of the future will be one that is either niche-focused or one that can operate in both an early-stage venture capital and later-stage pnvate equity environment, letting the market dictate at any given time how to weigh the portfolio accordingly. Changes for the Future One of the changes that would be most meaningful to me is a general trend toward more socially responsible investing in the markets that I consider highly impactful (health and wellness, medical technologies, and clean technology). We have reached a time where I believe it is possible to achieve equal or better returns by investing in and supporting markets that actually contribute positively to society. I comfortably predict that the next twenty years will be filled with problems and challenges of enormous proportions. Baby boomers are aging rapidly, yet our health care system continues to be ineffective and unaffordable, making it more difficult to get good treatment with every year that passes. Simultaneously, we continue to pollute our environment, and clean technologies are still unaffordable to the average citizen, moving us closer and closer to the point where severe natural catastrophes, global warming, and senous illness through environmental exposure become a sad reality of everyday life. The venture capital community has a tremendous opportunity to make a difference by supporting companies that focus on improving our health care system, by providing wellness services and products to citizens to increase their health, well-being, and quality of life, and by investing in sustainable environmental technologies that preserve our natural resources 35