Dow Jones VentureSource reported Q4 2008 venture capital totals over the weekend, reporting that national venture capital investments dropped in Q4 by 8% for the year, to $28.8 billion, and were down for the quarter to $5.5B, a drop of 30%. However, Texas bucked the trend, recording its best quarterly investment total since 2001, with $505M invested in the region.

According to the report, Texas had an astounding $505.10M in venture capital investments for the quarter--up from only $142.19 in Q3, and $286.21 for Q4 last year. The state's venture totals were boosted both by Consumer Services, which saw $254.1M in investments in Texas, as well as Information Technology, with $182.50M. Much of the Texas record numbers were influenced by a $250 million investment in Austin's HomeAway.

For the year, Texas had $1.151 billion in investments, down year to year by 11% from $1.278 billion--however it saw its total drop much less than every other region in the U.S., except the Bay Area, which pulled out a 4 percent increase in venture dollars invested.