Jurvetson describes his position and interest in the nanotechnology industry. In his opinion, it is still too early for the average venture firm to invest in the industry–in part, because they invest in companies that are much farther along on the risk spectrum. However, individual partners or firms that do early-stage investing are interested and the numbers are growing. Draper Fisher Jurvetson is one of them, and likes to be early in any new wave. In addition, the government funding for the sector is going up immensely, $3 billion internationally next year, and most of it is outside the US. The number of companies in nanotechnology are going up dramatically, so there is a lot of activity, he says.