Venture capitalists snub DC-area businesses in Q3

D.C.-area businesses saw less investment in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, according to the quarterly MoneyTree™ Report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on Thomson Reuters data.
In the period between July and September 2014, venture capitalists closed only 40 deals in the area spanning D.C., West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. That’s a slump compared to 64 last quarter and 52 at the same time last year, while investments in other metro areas were broadly on the upswing.
The size of investments also decreased sharply, running an average $5.7 million compared to $8.6 million during the third quarter of 2013.
Still, the technology sector dominated venture capitalist investments in the region. Software companies accounted for 70, or almost half of all the deals made in the first three quarters of this year. Biotechnology came second, with 19 and IT services third, with 17.
Here’s a list of the ten largest investment rounds closed by metro-area companies in the third quarter:

• NextNav Holdings, LLC ($70 million)
• Cerecor Inc ($16.3 million)
• Merkle Inc ($10.7 million)
• Luminal Inc ($10 million)
• Motionsoft Inc ($9.4 million)
• WiserTogether Inc ($9 million)
• OrderUp LLC ($8.3 million)
• Perfect Commerce Inc ($8.3 million)
• Nextility Inc ($7 million)
• Fundrise LLC ($7 million)