VC Roundup: Philly is home to 2 of the most active VC firms in U.S., DreamIt open for applications

Welcome to the VC Round-up, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line.

DEFINITE READS

PriceWaterhouseCoopers has released its Q4 MoneyTree report, complete with regional data showing Philly bouncing back from a disappointing Q3 with $142 million being invested in 28 deals, mostly in medical and biotechnology. See all the deals listed here. Silicon Valley continues its rebound with $2.2 billion of investment, nearly four times the next closet metro area. In total dollars invested, Philly ranks 12th out of 17 markets.
If you ever wonder why there is so much First Round and BFTP news on Technically Philly, its probably because First Round Capital and Ben Franklin Technology Partners were ranked the forth and 19th-most active VC firms in the nation by Dow Jones VentureSource, respectively. The Wall Street Journal points out that the average age of firms on the list is 24, while First Round Capital is only six years old. Meanwhile, BFTP/SEP announced it has invested nearly $1 million in five local companies.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

Local incubator space DreamIt Ventures is opening applications for its 2010 session. We suggest you throw your hat in the ring as DreamIt grads have gone on to land additional funding from larger VC firms. Or, if you’re Scribnia, you sell your company while still in DreamIt and go on to launch another one at TechCrunch 50.
The Wall Street Journal reports that, nationally, VCs spent more money than they have raised. The last time that happened was 2003, a tough year for the business.

GIVE A GLANCE

Versa Capital has opened offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. Versa, of course, is the only company we know of that was sued over domain name hijacking and ended up with an even better domain name.
Robin Hood Ventures has announced it will join BFTP and other local firms in sponsoring the 2010 Angel Venture Fair.
Brenda Gavin, partner at Quaker BioVentures, will be honored with the Hubert J.P. Schoemaker Leadership Award at the Pennslyvania Convention Center on March 11th. The award “recognizes an outstanding leader in the biosciences community” in the state.
First Round has invested in Rixty, an online payment system.
The VC Roundup will deliver Philadelphia private equity news hot and fresh every Tuesday morning.