Report: R.I. 36th in nation for venture capital investment

THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY industry again had the highest level of venture capital funding of all industries, receiving $8.7 billion across 379 deals for the second quarter, according to The MoneyTree Report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association released Friday. / COURTESY PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS/MONEYTREE REPORT
THE SOFTWARE INDUSTRY industry again had the highest level of venture capital funding of all industries, receiving $8.7 billion across 379 deals for the second quarter, according to The MoneyTree Report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association released Friday. / COURTESY PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS/MONEYTREE REPORT

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island ranked 36th in the U.S. for venture capital investment of $2.1 million and 26th for five deals in the second quarter, according to The MoneyTree Report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association released Friday.
That’s a drop from venture capital investment in the first quarter, which was marked by only one deal – $5 million to IlluminOss Medical Inc., a commercial-stage medical device company in East Providence.
Companies that received venture capital funding in the second quarter were:

  • Datarista Inc., a platform-as-a-service software company in Providence, which received $1 million in early stage financing – $350,000 from Slater Technology Fund with the remaining from private investors.
  • Greycork, an online furniture company in Providence, which received $709,000, from ff Venture Capital and an undisclosed firm.
  • SquadLocker Inc., a provider of custom athletic apparel in Warwick, which received $167,000 from Slater Technology Fund.
  • eNow Inc., a developer of renewable energy solutions for commercial transportation in Warwick, which received $125,000 from Slater Technology Fund.
  • IlluminOss received $104,000 from Slater Technology Fund.

Slater Technology Fund, based in Providence, is a nonprofit investor in innovative startups.
The report, based on data from Thomson Reuters, said venture capitalists invested $15.3 billion in 961 deals nationwide in the second quarter of 2016.

It said total venture dollars deployed to startup companies for the quarter increased 20 percent and total deal count fell 5 percent, compared with the first quarter when $12.7 billion was invested in 1,011 deals. Compared with the second quarter 2015, dollars and deals decreased 12 and 22 percent, respectively. This is the 10th consecutive quarter of more than $10 billion in venture capital invested in a single quarter, however.
“The venture capital ecosystem has proven to be both resilient and nimble,” Tom Ciccolella, U.S. venture capital market leader at PwC, said in a statement.

The software industry again had the highest level of funding of all industries, receiving $8.7 billion across 379 deals for the quarter, a 70 percent increase in dollars even though deals decreased 4 percent compared with the first quarter. Six of the 11 megadeals (investments of $100 million or more) were in the software industry.

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The software industry has held the top spot for dollars invested among all MoneyTree industries for 27 straight quarters, according to the report. Biotechnology received the second largest amount of venture capital for the quarter, with $1.7 billion invested into 100 deals.

California ranked first in venture capital investment and deals, New York was second and Massachusetts was third.

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