RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Led by 10 deals made in the Triangle, startups raised more than $337 million in the second quarter, the lowest total in three years, according to a new report from Dow Jones VemtureSource. But there are caveats.
To keep things in perspective, 2018 and 2017 represented two of the best deal-making years dating back to the “dot com” boom. And, some NC deals reported in the media are not included in the report.
Deals made also totaled 19, which is second to 2018’s 26 investments but higher than the 16 made in 2017.
Nationally, entrepreneurs raised nearly $32 billion, the fourth highest quarter on record, Dow Jones VentureSource reported.
Breaking down Q2 venture deals (Dow Jones VentureSource)
The investment pace in North Carolina is not quite as hot. So far in 2019, NC startups and emerging entrepreneurial companies have landed $447.4 million in cash, which tops the $430 million totaled in 2017 but is behind 2018’s first six-month total of $470 million.
However, the Dow Jones VentureSource data does not include several reported deals in NC, such as:
The various venture capital reports, such as from Pitchbook, often cite different figures for deal-making based upon the organization’s criteria.
Due in large part to the NC-record $1.25 billion raised last fall by Cary-based Epic Games, North Carolina entrepreneurs are well behind the $2.6 billion in deals which is the state’s all-time total.
Across the southeast in 2Q 2019, investors made 94 deals worth $1.8 billion.
Top NC deals
Here are the top 10 deals as reported by Dow Jones VentureSource:
- Asklepios BioPharmaceutical Inc. (AskBio), $225M
- ArchiveSocial Inc., $53
- Pryon Inc., $20M
- Get Spiffy, $10M
- Fluree PBC, $4.73M
- Higharc Inc., $4.7M
- MATI Energy Ltd., $3.62M
- Clutch Inc., $3.48M
- Terra Dotta LLC, $3.40M
- LivingLab Inc., $2.74
National numbers
The national picture is brighter.
“VC-backed startups enjoyed yet another quarter of very robust investment activity, with $31.59 billion raised in 1,416 deals,” Dow Jones Venture Source reported. “While funding dipped slightly from 1Q, it still ranks as the fourth-largest quarter on record. Just as significantly, the number of deals reversed its year-long decline and rose 7 percent from the previous quarter.
“Taken together, these metrics paint a picture of a thriving VC ecosystem that has facilitated an ongoing golden age for U.S. tech companies.”
Leading the way were information technology investments at $8.7 billion
Healthcare companies produced $6.87 billion in deals.
The investors
Deal makers in NC:
- Cofounders Capital, 2
- Revolution LLC 2, 2
- 4490 Ventures, 1
- BootstrapLabs, 1
- Breyer Capital, 1
- Bull City Venture Partners, 1
- Camber Capital, 1
- Digital Alpha Advisors, 1
- Engage Ventures, 1
- Venture Capital, 1
