Venture capital (VC) funding in the solar sector in Q3 2012 was down to its lowest levels since 2008, totaling just $72 million in 14 deals compared to $376 million in 32 deals in Q2 2012. Twenty-six investors participated in the 14 deals in Q3, and only New Enterprise Associates was involved in multiple deals. The leading VC deal this quarter was concentrating photovoltaic company SolFocus with $15 million. At the end of Q3, most of the year-to-date VC funding went to solar downstream ($258 million) and thin film companies ($246 million).