San Diego County startups raised only $590 million in the third quarter, a 60% drop compared to a year ago and the smallest quarterly investment total in eight years.

The number of deals told a similar sluggish story. The county saw 48 venture capital deals inked in the three months ended Sept. 30, according to a report by PitchBook, an industry research firm, and the National Venture Capital Association. That’s a decrease from 61 deals in the third quarter of last year and the lowest quarterly count in seven years.

Nizar Tarhuni, executive vice president of research and market intelligence at PitchBook, said: “Fundraising continues to lag amid ongoing market hesitancy, driven by years of capital influx the industry was ultimately unable to absorb.”

Mike Krenn, managing director for Pre

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