A few months into 2015, D.C.’s tech industry is continuing to prove itself a major region for venture capital investing interest. Based on an NVCA/PwC report provided to DC Inno, the District is ranked No. 9 among major U.S. regions for investments during Q1. In a quarter that saw vibrant deal flow and exceptional venture raises, the D.C. focused software sector did especially well by raising $220 million in investment dollars.
Now well into Q2—and as we continuously look for the next innovative D.C. company to disrupt the market—it's important to understand the latest market patterns and startups of interest. Venture capital firms invested a total of $330 million across 38 deals throughout the D.C. region — which spans D.C., Maryland and greater Virginia — in Q1.
Looking at NVCA/PwC’s data, the region's average deal total for the first quarter since 2008 — one year prior to the nationwide recession — is about 46 venture deals. Thus, 38 deals is slightly off from the average. However, the $330 million in total VC dollars raised during the quarter topples any previous Q1 figure for the DC area since 2008.
Some of the top deals in the first quarter included: Reston-based Sciencelogic ($43 million), Bowie-based SemaConnect ($15.9 million), D.C.-based Kit Check ($12 million), D.C.-based FiscalNote ($10 million) and Chantilly-based Advance Health ($40 million), among others.
Here are a 3 key highlights from the report (charts courtesy of NVCA/PwC):
1.) This is how the D.C. region’s 2015 Q1 stacks up with years prior and how said investment was divided per individual financial rounds (click the image to enlarge):
2.) This is how region-specific investment was divided dependent on industry sectors:
3.) When the D.C. area is compared to other metropolitan areas in terms of venture capital investment this is what it looks like:
