Venture funding for high tech companies made a stronger showing during the third quarter, but life science deals still accounted for more than half the capital invested in the San Diego area, according to the latest MoneyTree Report. Venture investments in local biotech, medical diagnostics, and device companies also made up the most of the deals counted during the second quarter.
Of the $231 million total that was invested in 32 San Diego companies during the quarter, $129.7 million (56 percent) was invested in 17 companies (53 percent) specializing in drug discovery and development, diagnostics, or medical devices.
In the previous quarter, 72 percent of the total VC investment in the region ($148 million of the $204.9 million total) went to life science startups. In the same quarter of 2009, San Diego’s life science companies got 65 percent of the total ($163 million of the $252 million total).
The total amount of all venture capital invested in the San Diego region increased about 13 percent from the previous quarter (when $204.9 million went into 28 companies). But it was down 8 percent from the same quarter of 2009 (when $252 million was invested in 36 companies). The MoneyTree Report is prepared by the PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting firm through a partnership with the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters.
Media and Entertainment startups in the San Diego area got the second biggest share of venture capital, with three companies receiving $61.6 million (27 percent) of the total invested.
San Diego’s software sector accounted for the third biggest chunk of venture capital, with $19.3 million (8 percent) invested in five deals.
Here is a list of the top 10 deals in San Diego, based on data from MoneyTree:
1. SkinIt, San Diego. Provides adhesive “skins” to personalize laptops, mobile phones, and other consumer electronics. $60 million. Investors include ABS Capital Partners, Northwest Equity Partners.
2. Otonomy, San Diego. Developing drug treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders. $38.5 million. Investors: Novo Ventures, RiverVest Venture Partners, Avalon Ventures, Domain Associates, TPG Biotech.
3. AutoGenomics, Vista, CA. Provides automated microarray-based diagnostic technology for identifying