Venture capitalists continue to find solid opportunities, despite big regulatory changes that could eventually alter the way startup companies raise money. In the third quarter, VCs pumped $8.1 billion into 806 deals, an uptick in dollars invested compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year. The number of deals, however, declined slightly, according to a report being released today by Dow Jones.
What’s perhaps most interesting in the data is the surging IPO market. Twenty five venture-backed companies, including FireEye and Violin Memory, went public in the third quarter, up from 20 in the previous quarter and just 10 in the third quarter of 2012.
Google Ventures was the mot active firm in the third quarter with 23 deals, followed by Sequoia (17 deals) and Andreessen Horowitz (17 deals). Meanwhile, the media pre-money valuation for startups fell to $20.96 million, down from $22.48 million.
But while things heated up on the national front and in the public markets, it was a different story in Washington state.
In fact, the third quarter results were just dismal.
According to the report, companies in Washington state raised just $70 million, the smallest quarterly total in at least four years. The dollars were spread across 25 deals, also down from the previous quarters. Seattle ranked 10th in terms of venture capital dollars allocated, tied with Dallas-Fort Worth.
