Venture investors put $5.5 billion into 662 deals for U.S.-based companies during the third quarter of 2010, a 5 percent drop in investment but a 2 percent increase in deals from the same period last year, Dow Jones VentureSource said. Despite the investment drop during the most recent quarter, $18 billion was put into 2,016 deals during the first three quarters of 2010, a 10 percent increase in both investment and deal activity over the same period last year. The median deal size for the third quarter was $5 million, on par with the same period last year. During the first three quarters of the year, 68 deals that raised $282 million were funded by both angel groups and venture capital firms.