Is The Tide Turning?

Though unemployment rate is hitting 10%+ in US, things are looking up from what I see:

1. IPO market start to open up for venture backed startups: A123 System, LogMeIn, SolarWind, etc.
2. Notable M&A exits: Cisco/Tanderberg ($3B), Cisco/Starent ($2.9B), Cisco/ScanSafe ($160M), Cisco/DVN($40M), Compuware/Gomez($296M),HP/3Com($6B), Google/Admob($750M), EA/Playfish($300M+)…
3. Good activities from VCs: Though the VC industry is still showing signs of struggling in general, quite a few VCs are quietly doing lots of things including raising new fund (notably Andreessen & Horowitz) and doing deals. Another notable example that I love is Founder Collective launched by folks like Chris Dixon. I myself saw quite a few good Series A deals done over the last 4 months.
4. China’s growth rate is going to be 8%+, despite its target of “only” 7% early in the year.

Coincidentally, my friends at RTMAsia reported that “Since September, RTM Asia has seen a strong uptick in US technology vendors looking to expand, with many putting Asia-Pacific expansion in their 2010 plans”. They included am impressive list of activities that they are involved with (I’m not sure whether I can disclose their list or not).

If the tide is turning, it would be great for everyone. On the other side, we shouldn’t read too much into it . At my new company, Yottaa, in some sense, we don’t really care whether the tide is turning or not. Startups like us do what we need to do no matter what.

Do you see the tide turning?