five Series B rounds. And that’s without counting the four deals where the stage of the round could not be determined. It’s safe to say that the market for early-stage startups is alive and well.
—Just as in June and July, the most active sectors in August by deal number were healthcare and Internet. Each month their positions have flip-flopped, though. August saw healthcare take the lead again, with seven deals, edging out the Internet sector by one deal. On a dollar basis, though, healthcare dominated, as you might expect given the high costs of operating biotech and other life sciences startups. VCs pumped in $89 million to healthcare companies, compared to just $23.65 million to Internet startups.
—While venture investments spanned just about every sector of the high-tech economy last month, energy was shut out for the second time in three months. The exception, July, saw just one deal in this sector. You have to wonder if the bloom is off the rose for energy companies.
—No single venture firm took the lead when it came to the numbers of deals done, but Atlas Venture, General Catalyst Partners, Charles River Ventures, Highland Capital Partners, and Flagship Ventures each took part in two deals during the month.
August 2009 MA Venture Investments
Author: Robert Buderi
Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative.
Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.
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