Venture capital investing bounced back in Washington state during the first quarter, reversing a dismal performance in the same period last year. Twenty eight companies raised $206 million, a 41 percent increase in dollars raised. Washington was the only major region in the country to see significant gains, according to a new report from CB Insights.
Significant deals included investments in Finsphere, Opscode and Spoken Communications. Despite the uptick in activity, Washington still ranks well below the other major regions. New York recorded $335 million invested across 81 deals, while Texas saw $336 million invested in 39 deals. California remained the juggernaut, with $2.8 billion invested in 309 deals.
Here’s a look at the national investing levels:
Despite the declines in dollars invested, CB Insights suggested that it’s not really time to panic.
“Although this represents a 22% decline in funding from Q4 2012, we do not think that a single quarter dip in funding is in any way symptomatic of any sort of correction or any sort of bubble bursting,” the report said. “Deal activity which we view as a better gauge of investor sentiment remains strong. The funding dip is primarily the result of fewer VC mega deals in the quarter which as the quarter illustrates can and do move numbers significantly up when present and down wildly when absent.”
In fact, the $1 billion buyout of Instagram by Facebook, along with its upcoming IPO could add fuel to the market.
Here’s a look at the breakdown of investments in Washington state:
And here’s the breakdown of sector investing in Washington state over the past five quarters:
