VC Funding Declines in Q3 2014, Reports Examine VC Trends in OH, OR, PA

In Q3 2014, venture capital (VC) investments in the U.S. dropped by 30 percent from Q2 totals, according a new report from CB Insights. Q3 VC deal levels also dropped by 10 percent from Q2 totals. The severe drop, however, can be attributed to Q2 being the most successful VC quarter since Q1 2001. The good news is that the first three quarters of 2014 saw the U.S. VC investment total reach $33.75 billion – an increase of 59 percent compared to the first nine months of last year.

The initial public offering (IPO) market fell off significantly in Q3 with just 18 U.S.-based, VC-backed companies going public. In comparison, 59 companies went public in Q1 and Q2 combined. CB Insight researchers also found while late-stage deal share remained consistent at about 16 percent with Q1 and Q2, the size of those investments in share of venture capital dollars by series dropped from 35 percent in Q1 to only 22 percent in Q3. Read the report…

Ohio Startups Attract $149M in Investments in 2013
Investors made $149 million in total investments to Ohio startups in 2013, according to a recent report from VentureOhio. In Ohio VentureReport 2013, investors made 156 investments in 129 Ohio startups. Information technology (IT) and life sciences, including healthcare IT, received almost 93 percent of those investments. In addition to funding startups, investors made $260 million in investments to existing companies including new and follow-on investments. Although the results are encouraging, respondents stated $523 million in capital is needed by the end of 2015 to adequately address the capital demands of Ohio's seed/startup and early stage companies. Data primarily was collected from the survey responses of 48 investors, 34 of which are headquartered in the state. Read the report…

Oregon Startups Attract $329M in VC Funding in 2012-2013
In 2012-2013 calendar years, 53 companies attracted $329 million in VC funding with the majority of that funding flowing to the Portland metro region, according to a report from the University of Oregon – Oregon Capital Scan: A Line is Drawn. Forty-nine Portland-based startups were able to attract almost $300 million in VC funding – 91 percent of all VC funding dollars invested in the state. The report primarily was compiled using a variety of datasets, both public and private. To address gaps in the data, the research team also conducted interviews and other qualitative research methods. In addition to VC funding, the report includes capital sources such as seed and angel funding, crowdfunding, accelerators and incubators, and commercialization grants. Read the report…

Pittsburgh Region Companies Attract $338 Million in Investments in 2013
In 2013, 107 companies in the Pittsburgh region attracted $338 million in investments in 148 separate deals including almost $72 million in VC funding by Pittsburgh-based VC firms, according to Building Momentum: Investing in Pittsburgh Technology Sector Trends and Highlights, 2009-2013. A collaboration of Innovation Works and the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, the report presents capital investment data tracked from a variety of sources, such as traditional venture capital investors, private investors and strategic partnerships.

Between 2009-2013, the Pittsburgh investment ecosystem grew at more than twice the national average over the last five years, with Pittsburgh seeing 112.9 percent growth in venture capital while the nation as a whole saw a 54.6 percent increase. Among the 249 Pittsburgh companies that attracted funding during the 2009-2013 period, the primary sectors for investment were software and information technology sector (57 percent) and life sciences/healthcare sectors (25 percent). The report includes several capital benchmarks of metro regions from across the country. Read the report….