Despite the tough economic times over the past 12 months, Seattle angels continue to invest. The Keiretsu Forum today announced that its Northwest members — including angels in Seattle, Portland and Boise — pumped $8.9 million into 16 startup companies last year.

Twelve of those companies are located in the Pacific Northwest, including food preservation startup NanoIce and package tracking service EnRoute Systems. Most of the investments — 68 percent — fell into the technology category.

How does the $8.9 million compare to Seattle’s other major angel group, The Alliance of Angels?

Its members invested $10.3 million in 33 companies last year. The bulk of those investments — 21 — were in existing portfolio companies.

It certainly appears as if the angel investment pace is picking up, a trend that Keiretsu Forum president Nathan McDonald said he’s noticed.

“We are now starting to see some encouraging increases in investor members, entrepreneur interest and sponsorship,” said McDonald.  “This will all lead to greater capacity for positive impact on forwarding the entrepreneurial spirit in the Northwest.”

Here’s a list of the 16 companies that the Keiretsu Northwest group backed last year:

Castlewood Surgical

Rothman Healthcare

Hydrovolts

Glue Networks

NanoICE

Marketfish

Patheos

EET

Core Concepts

Zapproved

iVoiceNetworks

Journey Gym

Zevez Payments

Pacific West Land

Signalink

Enroute Systems

John Cook is co-founder of GeekWire, a tech news site in Seattle. Follow on Twitter: @geekwirenews.

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