In 2018, the amount of venture capital raised in the United States reached its highest amount since the dot com era.
According to PwC/CB Insights' annual MoneyTree Report, $99.5 billion was invested across 5,536 deals, representing a 30 percent increase year-over-year in total dollars raised.
However, the total number of deals was actually the lowest since 2013, underscoring the year's biggest VC trend - fewer deals, bigger deals. 2018 saw approximately 184 deals of over $100 million, including Raleigh-based Epic Games' $1.25 billion and Miami-based Magic Leap's $461 million, which is up from 120 monster deals in 2017. Last year also saw the birth of 53 unicorns, private businesses that achieve a valuation of over $1 billion, representing another venture record.
In Tampa Bay, the region's year in venture funding mirrored this national trend to a tee.
According to PwC/CB Insights' report, the Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Bradenton and Spring Hill ecosystems raised $160.4 million, an 89 percent increase over last year's $84.9 million.
However, this amount was raised across just 16 deals, one below last year's total of 17. And while the total of amount of deals dipped a bit, 16 is still the second largest number of venture deals for the region since 2000. So, while the decline in deals was minor, Tampa Bay's 2018 saw, just like in the U.S., more money spread across fewer deals. (Tampa proper accounted for $100 million of the $160 million).
Unfortunately, the region can't really speak for the state. According to the same report from PwC/CB Insights, Florida saw $992.5M raised across 101 deals in 2018, down from $2.16 billion raised across 103 deals in 2017. In the state, the year's biggest deals went to Magic Leap ($461M), Clearwater's FairWarning ($60M) and Tampa's A-LIGN ($54M).
It's important to note that venture capital, while an important metric for diagnosing the health and performance of an ecosystem, is just one of many data points - such as number of startups launched, exits, engineering degrees, job openings, etc. - that go into assessing a tech hub.
