Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Southern California Sees Surge of VC Investment

PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association released their Q1 venture capital numbers today, following the VentureOne/Ernst & Young Venture Capital report release yesterday. Both surveys showed an increase in investment for the quarter, with PWC's MoneyTree report showing $5.6B invested in 761 deals last quarter, and E&Y's Venture Capital Report showing $6.02B invested in 564 deals. Both reports showed an increase in the dollar value of venture capital investments for the quarter, with Ernst & Young saying that the amount invested was the most venture capital expended since the first quarter of 2001. Software and information technology investments led the increase, which offset a drop in the biotech investing area. According to E&Y, the largest deal for the quarter was the recent, $150M second round in Los Angeles-based Amp'd Mobile. E&Y reported that investment in Southern California increased by 24% last quarter to $658.6 million. PwC also reported that the Media and Entertainment sector, one of Southern California's strongpoints, hit its highest investment level since Q3 of 2001.