VC Stays Course in First Quarter with $4.6B Invested

Venture capital (VC) kept up a steady pace in the first three months of 2004, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers/Thomson Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Survey. Investments in the first quarter of 2004 totaled $4.6 billion going into 618 companies, the data show. The figure is below the $5.2 billion invested in the fourth quarter of 2003, but above the first quarter total of a year ago, $4.2 billion.

Life Sciences companies outpaced other industries for the seventh consecutive quarter, among MoneyTree™ Survey highlights. Investments in the sector totaled $1.3 billion, or 27 percent of all venture capital, and remained near their 12-year high reached in 2003. Biotech, alone, accounted for $943 million, while Medical Devices garnered $325 million.

Software, with 162 companies securing $956 million, was the single largest industry category in Q1 2004. The industry reclaimed the top spot following a two-quarter run as the second-leading industry category behind Biotech. Investments into the Telecommunications Industry showed a slight increase over the prior quarter, with $547 million going to 65 companies.

Detailed information for the first quarter of 2004, as well as some historical data dating back to 1995, is available by region, industry and stage of finance at http://www.pwcmoneytree.com.

SSTI also has compiled a state-by-state listing of the MoneyTree™ Survey results, presenting the number of deals, total amount invested and average deal amount. The table is available at: http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/051004t.htm [Note: The table offers a snapshot of VC data as was initially made available and therefore differs from the data currently available at pwcmoneytree.com, which is continuously updated.]