The COVID-19 pandemic has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of venture capital investors, with the vast majority reporting they’re still investing at normal or near-normal levels.

That’s according to a new survey released today by the financial technology firm Pitchbook Data Inc. and Collision from Home, a web summit event attracting more than 32,000 founders and investors.

Still, even as the venture capital cash continues to flow, the coronavirus has had an impact on investors’ strategies. The survey found that a majority of venture capitalists are now paying much closer attention to healthcare technology startups and those firms that have a clear path toward profitability, as opposed to those focused more on growth opportunities.

The survey of 110 venture investors found that just 11% of respondents are “significantly pulling back” on their investments over the last few months, while just 2% admitted to having completely stopped making any investments at all.

Interestingly, the inability to meet face-to-face with the founders of startups they’re targeting hasn’t really had much of an impact on investor’s plans. Just 20% of VCs said not being able to meet in person was preventing them from making investments, while two-thirds said their plans were unaffected.

Instead, the real impact of the coronavirus on the venture capital landscape has been on how it has shaped their overall strategies. The survey found that 65% of VCs “still see the some importance in technology startups prioritizing growth over profit,” compared with 72% who thought the same last November.

“Understandably, investor focus has shifted away from the caliber of the founding and executive team to shine a brighter light on the business model and path to profitability,” the survey authors wrote. “While the very nature of VC means there will always be somewhat of an emphasis on growth, the state of uncertainty brought on by Covid-19 has led investors to be even more focused on business models with a clear path to profitability.”

Moreover, and contrary to what many might have assumed, the pandemic has led to what many investors feel are much more promising technology investment opportunities. Although the outlook for the tech industry was already looking rosy in pre-pandemic times, the spread of the coronavirus has generated lots of enthusiasm for startups in the healthcare technology sector. Survey respondents said they now see as much potential for disruption in the healthcare vertical as they do in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which was cited by 28% as the most disruptive sector in Pitchbook’s November 2019 survey.

Another area attracting more interest is the supply chain technology industry, which has become even more critical as logistics networks are disrupted by the coronavirus. According to the survey, 11% of VCs feel that this category will be the most disruptive going forward, as companies seek to mitigate the risk of any future supply chain shocks.

“During 2020, investors have shifted away from vanity growth metrics such as valuations, company size and exotic office locations,” said Alex Mackenzie, head of investors at Web Summit and Collision. “Covid-19 has encouraged investors to double down on the fundamentals of successful company building, paying attention to those startups that have a clear path or framework towards profitability.”

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