Here’s how much venture capital Philly companies have raised so far in 2019

Philadelphia-area companies have raised half a billion dollars in the first half of 2019, according to data from a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)/CB Insights MoneyTree report.

In the first quarter of 2019, Philly companies raised $224 million in venture capital across 23 deals. In the second quarter, there was $277 million raised also across 23 deals, for a total of $501 million — the most raised in the first half since PwC started tracking deals in 1995.

The amount of total venture capital raised is slightly more — $2 million — than 2018’s numbers at the same time of year, the report shows.

While 2019’s numbers are very close to 2018’s, the report shows that Philly companies have made a lot more in the first half of those two years than in years prior: In the first half of 2015, companies raised $215 million. In 2016, they raised $232 million. And in 2017, they raised $275 million.

Philly-area healthcare companies are receiving the bulk of the 2019 funding, making up about 74% of the money raised, Brad Phillips, an advisor to emerging technology and life science companies at PwC told Technical.ly Philly. The second industry after that is internet services.

Named as the biggest deal so far this year is Prelude Therapeutics, a Wilmington-based biopharmaceutical company that raised $60 million in a Series B fundraising stage.

Philadelphia’s largest deal comes from HealthVerity, makers of a privacy-minded data marketplace for the pharma and insurance industries, which raised $25 million in a Series C round in April.

Other deals include Vesper Medical, of Wayne, which raised $37 million; Ayala Pharmaceuticals, of Wilmington, which raised $30 million; Intact Vascular, of Wayne, which raised $25 million; Scout Bio, of Philadelphia, which raised $20 million; Exyn Technologies, which raised $16 million; Complexa, of Berwyn, which raised $11 million, and SCOIR of West Chester; and Good Catch Foods, each of which raised $10 million.

While there’s a few fewer deals made in the first two quarters in 2019 compared to in years prior, Phillips said it doesn’t mean Philly hasn’t been having a strong year.

“I wouldn’t overlook the number of deals, even if they’re small,” he said. “Ultimately that means an investor looked at a company and thought, ‘That’s a company that’s worth investing in.'”