vc funding

I started noticing an interesting trend happening in the software/web marketplace as of the start of this year. Companies would begin announcing major rounds of funding well beyond the average for that given round. Companies who come to mind that received big rounds are ning (44Million), linkedin (53Million), rockyou (35Million), slide(50Million), facebook (300Million) obviously, and several others. I remember when Ning picked up their round, Marc Andressen went on record to say that he doesn’t need the 50mm nor does he plan to use that money to spurt any sort of abnormal growth – instead he said that ning is proven and here to stay and this money is to ensure we can weather any sort of storm that may hit over the next several years.