Despite signs that the rest of the economy is going to hell in a hand basket, all that brouhaha about the venture capital industry being in the midst of a "crisis"? Chalk that up to hysteria.

New data released yesterday shows that investors are continuing to write big checks to the VC industry—which means more start-up capital for investors to hand out. More than 70 VC firms raised $9.1 billion in the second quarter of this year alone, according to the study by Thomson Reuters. That's up 3% from last year. Before we go cracking open a bottle of Veuve, we should point out that sure the growth isn't staggering—and there's still that niggling issue about a lack of IPOS. But still, it's not a loss! And for entrepreneurs seeking start-up funding, that's what's critical.

Bottom line: VCs still have got the money.