Philly-area VC on pace for less than $390M in 2012 investment, would be lowest since 1996 [REPORT]

All signs point to it being a slow year in venture capital funding for the Philadelphia region.

According to a MoneyTree report, this year’s venture investing could be the lowest its been in the area since the mid-90s, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported late last week. Reporter Peter Key writes:

So far in 2012, venture-capital firms have invested $193.24 million in companies in the Philadelphia Metro area, according to the report, which is published by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association using data from Thomson Reuters.

At that rate, in the entire year they would invest $386.48 million in companies in the area, which the report defines as eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, including Trenton and Princeton and Delaware. That total would be the lowest since 1996, when VCs invested $349.6 million. [more]

This isn’t a national trend, Key says. Nationally, venture capital funding is on pace to be lower than that of last year but higher than funding in 2009 and 2010.

Get more details on the report here.