New VentureOne data released by Ernst & Young and Dow Jones shows that twice as much VC money went into Web 2.0 deals in 2006 compared to the previous year.

• $844.4 million globally was directed into 167 deals in 2006
• Web 2.0 investment has doubled every year since 2002
• Globally, the median pre-money valuation was $6 million for a Web 2.0 company in 2006
• In the US, the median pre-money valuation was $18.5 million
• In Europe, the median pre-money valuation was $7 million
• The median financing round globally and in the US was $5 million, and $6 million in Europe

Keep in mind that this is strictly Web 2.0 deals, because there was certainly more than $844.4 million invested by VCs last year.

Of course all this talk about pre-money valuation doesn't matter, because they say to not worry at all about your equity percentage. But JUST IN CASE you're curious, a median pre-money valuation of $18.5 million and a median investment of $5 million, means that the investors as a whole get a little bit over 21% equity stake on average... for a Web 2.0 company. Now if we could just figure out what the fuck "Web 2.0" means then we could all go home with a check in hand :D

via Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal