According to SoCal Tech, new numbers from the PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree survey show that a grand total of $738.34M was invested in Socal companies during Q4 2011.
That number is up from $528M raised in Q4 of last year, and is on track with the nationwide numbers, which went up 22% from 2010 to 2011. Of course, money in the abstract is all well and good — especially money in those amounts. But, it’s much more interesting to talk about where that money came from, and where it went. Here are a few of the most fascinating financial facts on that front.
- San Diego companies raised the most in the region, taking in a total of $262.1M compared to the $226.75M invested in companies in Los Angeles.
- The investors most actively putting money into SoCal were Dave McClure’s 500 Startups, Versant Ventures, Frazier Healthcare and Technology Ventures and New Enterprise Associates, all of which coincidentally had three investments each in SoCal.
- The most active SoCal-based investors include Avalon Ventures, Revolution Ventures and GRP Partners.
- Fisker Automotive, Razer USA, AcuFocus and SolarReserve were among the biggest recipients of investment funds during the quarter. Of those, the only company based in LA proper is SolarReserve, which raised $27.0M. The other companies are located in San Diego and the OC.
- The Biotechnology industry had the most investments with $207M. In contrast, Media and Entertainment only say $55.3M in investment deals.
