Venture capital investment in Pacific Northwest companies through the first half of 2013 was down compared to last year, but the second quarter itself marked a modest uptick.
Investors plunged some $222.9 million into companies during the second quarter, a 39.5 percent increase on the first quarter of the year, and up 13.6 percent from the second quarter of 2012. The $382.5 million invested through the first six months of 2013, however, is down 22.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the MoneyTree report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), using data from Thomson Reuters.
The 35 deals done in the Northwest—which, for purposes of the report, includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming—during the second quarter of 2013 marks a slight decline from the 43 first quarter deals and matches the total for the second quarter of 2012. The number of deals in the region has remained fairly consistent over the last three years, typically coming in close to the average of 39 deals a quarter.
And the second quarter investment total was also near the quarterly average of $205.9 million over the last three years. As we note in our story on the national venture trend, second quarter venture investment locally remained relatively consistent and modest.
Top industry sectors in the quarter were software and IT services—no surprises there.
Top local deals—none of which cracked the national leader board—were:
- Apptio, the Bellevue, WA, technology management software company, which raised $45 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and others;
- Cardeas Pharma, the Seattle biotech, which landed $34 million from Avalon Ventures, Delphi Ventures, Devon Park Bioventures, WRF Capital, and others;
- Socrata, the Seattle maker of open data platforms for government, which raised $18.4 million from Frazier Healthcare, Morgenthaler Ventures, and Openview Venture Partners;
- Donuts, the Bellevue, WA, Internet domain name registrar, which raised $17.4 million—a previously undisclosed total—from Columbia Partners Private Capital, Generation Partners LP, and TL Ventures;
- Optimum Energy, the Seattle company making software and services to improve HVAC efficiency, which raised $12.2 million from Navitas Capital and another undisclosed investor.
