Friday, January 18, 2013

Pacific Northwest Sees Surge In VC Investment In Q4

The Pacific Northwest region saw a surge in venture capital investment in Q4, particularly in Washington State, according to the latest numbers released in the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) this evening. According to the report, there was a total of $273.1M invested in Washington during Q4 of 2012, across 32 deals, a significant uptick from a mere $90.9M invested in Q4 of 2011 across 27 deals. Oregon's quarter was roughly flat, with 5 deals worth an aggregate $48.8M, compared with 9 deals and $47.6M invested in Q4 of 2011. Among the deals driving totals in Washington was the $85.0M funding of Zulily, the daily deals site aimed at mothers, which was among the top five venture deals nationally in terms of amount raised.

Nationally, venture capital investments were down slightly, with $6.4 billion invested into 968 companies, down quarter to quarter 3 percent in terms of dollars, but up 5 percent in terms of deal volume. Compared to Q4 of 2011, where $7.38 billion was invested across 968 deals, total dollars invested were actually down about a billion dollars. PwC and the NVCA said that the top sector for investments in Q4 was software, with $2.1 billion going into 368 companies.

Image courtesy BigStock.com

---