After one quarter of 2021, DC-area companies already raised $1.24B in VC funding

When it comes to venture capital funding for companies based in the DMV, 2021 is starting off with a bang.

Numbers from the latest MoneyTree Report from PwC/CB Insights show that companies in the D.C. region raised a whopping $1.24 billion spread out over 53 deals in just the first quarter of 2021. That’s a 152% jump in dollars and 47% in number of deals from the fourth quarter of 2020.

That’s big for recent times, and historically. After one quarter, the city mirrored national trends and reached 67% of the dollar total in investments for all of last year,  when the metro area raised $1.957 total. That’s the highest level of investment in the region as a whole since 2000. It was also only the third quarter in the last five years where funding into companies based in the District surpassed $200 million in a quarter.

Of those investments, six were “megarounds” of more than $100 million, accounting for $726 million, or 59%, of all investments. PwC Director of Emerging Company Services Brad Phillips said another eight of the deals were over $50 million, which is also a rarity.

“It was just a monumental quarter for the region, and when you consider that megadeals have been rare in D.C. metro lately, to have six in one quarter is just unheard of,” Phillips said. “So any way you look at it, it was an outstanding quarter for funding in the region.”

Per Technical.ly’s reporting, some of the biggest VC rounds from D.C. and its immediate suburbs this quarter included:

• A $105 million Series E raise from Reston’s ScienceLogic
• A $118 million Series C investment into D.C.-based Pie Insurance, led by Allianz X.
• McLean, Virginia-based ID.me’s new status as a unicorn company after a $100 million Series C investment
• Bethesda, Maryland-based Aledade closed on $100 million in Series D funding, led by Meritech Capital

VC funding that went to companies in the District is also on the rise, growing almost 91% from last quarter to $206 million. There were 12 deals altogether, which is a 28% jump from Q4. Of the $206 million, internet deals made up $169 million, and six of the top 10 deals came from that sector.

Looking at the states surrounding the District, Virginia was up 60% in deals and had about $545 million in investments. Maryland, meanwhile, saw $562 million in 24 deals, an increase of nearly 68% from the last quarter. Phillips said these were the highest totals Maryland has seen since Q3 of 2000.

On the $562 million total, Phillips said, “Any time over the past five years, that would have been a decent quarter for the entire region — for all of the jurisdictions. And after one quarter, we saw that just in Maryland. So seeing that amount invested in one jurisdiction in the region is impressive given the history here.”