Venture capitalists invested $124.1M in R.I. firms in 2014

KEVIN WILBUR IS THE president and founder of Absolute Commerce, which received $200,000 from Slater Technology Fund and an undisclosed firm last year. A total of 14 deals venture capital deals took place last year, representing $124 million in funding. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
KEVIN WILBUR IS THE president and founder of Absolute Commerce, which received $200,000 from Slater Technology Fund and an undisclosed firm last year. A total of 14 deals venture capital deals took place last year, representing $124 million in funding. / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PROVIDENCE – Venture capitalists invested $124.1 million in Rhode Island companies in 2014, $42 million more than in 2013, and the largest amount to date, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association.

The report, which is based on data from Thomson Reuters, said that a total of $48.3 billion was invested in 4,356 deals nationally in 2014.

Rhode Island’s venture capital investments have been steadily increasing. Back in 2011, they totaled $42.2 million and represented 11 deals, while in 2012, they totaled $85.1 million and 15 deals.

The 2014 figure represents 14 deals (some companies had multiple deals), which is one more than 2013:

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  • Teespring Inc., a Providence T-shirt maker that sells its products online; $35 million from Andreessen Horowitz LLC and Khosla Ventures LLC, and $20 million from Andreessen Horowitz.
  • Nabsys Inc., a Providence biotechnology firm developing a DNA sequencing platform; $25.5 million from Bay City Capital LLC and Calfed Venture Capital Corp.
  • Swipely Inc., a Providence company that helps merchants track and understand customer data through a cloud-based platform; $20 million from First Round Capital, Index Ventures, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Shasta Ventures L.P.
  • Neurotech Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cumberland biotechnology company; $7 million, then $5 million and $900,000 from an undisclosed firm and from Versant Ventures Inc.
  • IlluminOss Medical Inc., an East Providence medical device company; $6.5 million from Excel Venture Management, Foundation Medical Partners LP, Life Sciences Partners BV, Pappas Ventures, Slater Technology Fund, Sr One Ltd. IlluminOss also received an additional $11 million. The total $17 million was part of a tranched investment made as part of IlluminOss’ series C round of venture capital financing totaling $34 million (including $17 million in 2012). Investors included Mieza Capital and New Leaf Venture Partners.
  • VoltServer Inc., an East Greenwich power distribution company; $1.4 million from Angel Street Capital LLC and Slater Technology Fund.
  • Splitwise Inc., a Providence provider of Web-based tools to split bills with friends and family; $1.4 million, undisclosed funding.
  • Clarke Industrial Engineering Inc., a North Kingstown company that designs and markets shutter valves; $1 million from New World Angels Inc. and an undisclosed firm.
  • Absolute Commerce Inc., a Providence developer of enterprise resource planning software solutions; $200,000 from Slater Technology Fund and an undisclosed firm.
  • Care Thread Inc., a Providence company providing secure mobile messaging and team-based collaboration solutions; $100,000 from Slater Technology Fund.
  • Enhanced Energy Group LLC, a South Kingstown industrial firm that deploys military semi-closed cycle technology in commercial spaces; $50,000 from Slater Technology Fund.

According to the MoneyTree Report, Internet-specific companies captured $11.9 billion nationally in 2014, marking the highest level of Internet-specific investments since 2000.
In addition, annual investments into the software industry also reached the highest level since 2000 with $19.8 billion flowing into 1,799 deals in 2014. Dollars going into software companies accounted for 41 percent of total venture capital investments in 2014, the highest percentage since the inception of the MoneyTree Report in 1995.
“2014 has been an exciting year for venture capital investing,” Mark McCaffrey, global software leader and technology partner at PwC, said in a statement. “With the continued economic conditions, we would expect venture capital investing to be positioned to continue strong levels of investing in 2015.”

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