The amount of investment capital provided to St. Louis firms increased in the second quarter of 2024, thanks to one particularly large deal, according to a new report.
St. Louis firms raised $145.2 million from investors across 10 deals in the second quarter, per a new report from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. That compares with 14 deals and $104.6 million raised in the first quarter this year.
The bulk of the funding locally came from $100 million raised in equity capital by Maryland Heights-based health care technology firm Lumeris. Its funding round was led by New York-based investment firm Deerfield Management and Endeavor Health, based in the Chicago area. A $17 million Series B funding round for financial technology startup FinLocker was another significant local deal in the quarter. Investors in Finlocker's raise included Wayne, Pennsylvania-based Radian Group Inc. (NYSE: RDN), a provider of mortgage insurance and other real estate services.
Through the first half of 2024, St. Louis firms have raised $249.9 million in venture capital across 24 deals, according to Pitchbook’s data. That compares with $228.1 million raised and 31 deals in the first half of 2023.
Nationally, the amount of capital injected into companies increased quarter over quarter, but deal flow was down. Investors provided $55.6 billion to U.S. firms in the second quarter, up from $37.8 billion in the first quarter of 2024. The second quarter had 3,108 investment deals nationwide, down from 3,469 in the prior quarter.
The amount of capital provided for startups in the second quarter this year was up from $35.4 billion in the year-ago quarter, but down from $77.6 billion in the second quarter of 2022.
“The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic saw unprecedented levels of investment in a variety of technologies such as early-stage blockchain, autonomous vehicles, virtual reality, AI, and others,” Pitchbook’s report said. “Regardless of cause, the initial flood of investment into these technologies has largely abated, and now investors are focused on supporting their most promising companies to maturity amid a historically challenging exit environment. This has meant more inside and continuation rounds with valuations under unprecedented levels of scrutiny.”
