If last month is any indication, 2009 is going out with a whimper when it comes to the number of dollars in new venture deals for Washington companies. Though there has been a mini-comeback of small software financings since October.
That’s according to the latest roundup figures from ChubbyBrain, a New York-based maker of tools for investors, startups, and entrepreneurs. Their stats say Washington companies raised a total of $79.4 million in November, up from about $70 million the previous month. But almost half of it was in a $35 million debt financing for Light Sciences Oncology, a Bellevue, WA-based developer of a drug-device combo treatment for cancer. (Actually, as Luke reported, Light Sciences Oncology secured the right to a $23.3 million line of credit, and granted investors $11.8 million of options they may choose to exercise later.)
There were 10 venture financings worth a total of $44.4 million (see table below). The two biggest were Redmond’s EndoGastric Solutions ($12 million as part of a $21.5 million Series E round) and Seattle-based Redfin ($10 million Series D round led by new investor Greylock Partners).
Six of the 10 venture deals were in software and Internet, which marks a slight rise in activity in the sector over the past couple of months (in terms of number of deals, not dollars). These deals included up-and-comers Doxo and Enroute Systems, notably both Series A rounds. Of the remaining financings, two were in alternative energy (Bio Architecture Lab and Infinia), and two were in medical devices, Calibra Medical and EndoGastric. (Both of those device companies, interestingly, were co-founded by Seattle-area inventor Clif Alferness, but have actually moved their headquarters to the San Francisco Bay Area.)
