The top money raisers in tech in 2011

Technology companies reeled in more cash via IPOs than any other sector in 2011, buoyed by public offerings from companies such as Zynga, Jive and LinkedIn. Zillow, the Seattle online real estate company which went public last July, also added to the total.

According to an analysis by IPO Dashboards, technology companies raised more than $8 billion in 2011.  That was followed by the energy sector, which raised a combined total of $7.5 billion.

Could the dollars continue to flow into tech in 2012? Well, reports signal that Facebook may be headed toward an initial public offering this May, raising as much as $10 billion. Amazingly, that would be more than the combined total of all of the technology companies in 2011.

IPOs can be a risky investment.  As previously noted by IPO Dashboards, the vast majority of public offerings ended 2011 below their offering prices. In fact, IPO Dashboards found that the average initial public offering closed down more than nine percent on the year.

Here’s a look at the companies and sectors that raised the most money in 2011.

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