Startups

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

The DMV area saw its highest level of investment in 20 years in Q1 of 2021, according to data from the MoneyTree Report by PwC/CB Insights. It included six "megarounds" of $100 million or more.

ID.me's office in McLean, Virginia. (Courtesy photo)
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:

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.”

Companies: Pie Insurance / ID.me / PricewaterhouseCoopers

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Do zero-waste takeout containers work? We tried a new DC service to find out

Top tech stories of 2024: How AI, cyber and community made DC innovation sing 

What actually is the 'creator economy'? Here's why we should care

Skills, not schools: A new path for government tech

Technically Media