Shop Talk: A detailed look at Philly’s Q2 venture capital numbers

In our last post about VC numbers, we told you, fair reader, that no region experienced growth like Philadelphia. Though to be clear, that growth was mostly because of three mega deals. We also told you that more detailed numbers were expected from PricewaterhouseCoopers on August 3rd.
Well, we would never leave you hanging.
We dove into the numbers and pulled out the important parts, such as which Philly firms were busiest this quarter, the Philadelphia companies receiving the most investment and what industry received the most attention.
Follow past the jump for your quarterly dose of our regions venture capital activity.

PHILLY VC MARKET = TOP HEAVY

As mentioned last week, the Phoenix Services deal for $50 million dramatically affects the numbers, as half of all money invested in the region went to the top three deals. For comparison, the top three deals in Silicon Valley were 15 percent of the total. Similarly to our region, the top three deals in San Diego, which had exactly the same number as Philly, were 56 percent of their total.

FIRST ROUND LEADS LOCAL VC’s

In terms of the amount of deals, First Round Capital is the area’s leader. Though this may be a bit unfair as First Round specializes in early-state and seed investing. It is difficult to assume what firms invested the most dollars, as many investments involve multiple firms and rarely are exact investments disclosed.
Keep in mind that PricewaterhousCoopers’ report tends to define “The Philadelphia Metro” area� slightly more liberally than we might at Technically Philly. So some Central New Jersey and Harrisburg firms are in the mix.
Philadelphia firms with most deals:

1. First Round Capital – 11
2. Domain Associates – 8
3. TL Ventures – 7
4. BFTP – 6
5. ProQuest Investments – 4
6. S.R. One – 3
7. Quaker BioVentures – 2
8. Edison Venture Fund – 2
9. Comcast Interactive Capital – 2
10. Cardinal Partners – 1
11. EnerTech Capital – 1
12. Element Partners – 1
13. New Jersey Economic Development Authority – 1
14. Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania – 1

BIOTECH LEADS THE WAY

Once again, biotechnology investments lead the way, accounting for 43 percent of all activity in the metro area. If your barometer for success is simply the number of deals, then software companies lead the way with seven.
Philadelphia companies receiving the most investment (not necessarily from Philly firms, all numbers in dollars)

1. Phoenix Services / Industrial – $50M
2. VaxInnate / Biotech – 30M
3. Avid Radiopharmaceuticals / Biotech – 28.5M
4. Trevena / Biotech – 11M
5. Sierra Education Finance Corporation / Finance – 10.5M
6. Sanovia / Software – 8.185M
7. Embrella Cardiovascular / Medical – 5.1M
8. Ophthotech Corporation / Medical – 4.72M
9. Tangent Energy Solutions / Industry – 2M
10. SevOne / Software – 2M
11. Finite Carbon Corporation / Industry – 2M
12. Collections Marketing Center / Software – 2M
13. Neotropix / Biotech – 1.4M
14. mVisum / Software – 1.25M
15. IntegriChain / Software – 1M
16. SPHN Holdings / Biotech – 783K
17. Agilence, Inc. / Electronics – 500K
18. Quiq / Software – 200K
19. RealWinWin / Finance – 150K
20. PivotPoint Software / Media and Entertainment – 150K
21. Life Management Advisor / Software – 100K
22. E-Duction, Inc / Finance – 271K

Philadelphia has rebounded nicely form only seeing thirteen deals in Q1 for $31 million. This quarter’s rebound of 22 deals for $162 million largely mirrors the rest of the country. Though it remains to be seen whether the upward trend will continue to Philly’s pre-recession numbers, which often saw 30-plus deals a quarter.
Every Wednesday, Shop Talk shows you what goes into a tech product, organization or business in the Philadelphia region. See others here.