Maryland’s Q3 VC numbers aren’t looking so hot

Taken as a whole, Maryland’s venture capital investment appeared to be at its lowest level in almost two decades in the third quarter of 2016.
There are a couple caveats, however.
The total haul for 12 deals was about $19.6 million, according to the latest MoneyTree Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is based on data from Thomson Reuters.
There’s no doubt those numbers stand out. They’re the lowest posted total since 1997. It’s an especially big comedown from last year’s fourth quarter high, when rounds like Tenable Network Security’s record-setting $250 million Series B was just the highest of several individual deals that topped the total number for Q3.
Plus, it follows a national trend. According to the global quarterly Venture Pulse report, which is produced by KPMG International and CB Insights, the quarter was the lowest in two years — globally.
The numbers might not offer the complete picture, however. For one, the amount of money invested into City Garage-based Treason Toting and Hanover’s Eyewitness Surveillance wasn’t disclosed, so the total amount of money invested is higher. Additional announced deals like R2integrated’s majority investment from Baird Capital and Dragos’ seed round weren’t reported this quarter, which happens due to final closings coming later.
And the report shows that Baltimore companies continue to receive funding despite Maryland’s relative woes. Pixelligent’s $10.4 million Series C was tops in the state. Additional investment for startups like Clear Guide Medical and Proscia helped Baltimore account for half of the deals.
With the roughly $220 million total for 2016 only a quarter of last year’s total, it will be interesting to see if the numbers rebound in the fourth quarter.