Research Triangle Park, NC – The Council for Entrepreneurial Development released its annual Venture Report this week highlighting North Carolina venture capital investing in 2003.

Among the most significant findings of CED’s annual Venture Report:
· North Carolina companies raised more than $442.33 million in venture capital investments in 2003. The state’s total represents a 22 percent decline from 2002 versus a decline of 14 percent for the nation as a whole.
· Despite a decline in venture capital investments, North Carolina ranked in the top ten nationally for venture investments for the second year in a row. The state came in at #10 nationally in both total capital raised (versus its #9 ranking last year) and total deals completed (versus a #6 ranking last year).
· While the dollars invested in seed stage companies grew by 215 percent and the size of the average seed deal grew by a factor of almost 5X, the number of deals decreased by 35% (from 14 to 9), a year-over-year decline for two years in a row in North Carolina.
· North Carolina maintained its lead in the Southeast by outpacing states such as Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and Florida. However, high growth in New Jersey, Colorado and Pennsylvania and continued leveling in historically strong states such as California, Massachusetts and Texas significantly outpaced North Carolina’s 2003 performance.
· In 2003, North Carolina ranked fourth nationally in terms of total dollars raised by life science companies ($235.23 million total), with the sector claiming an even greater portion of the state’s total dollars with 53.2 percent versus 50.2 percent in 2002. New Jersey was the only other state where the life science sector claimed more than 50 percent of the total venture capital raised.

CED President Monica Doss said the Venture Report outlined the challenges and opportunities for venture financing in North Carolina, and highlighted the continued lack of seed stage funding as a key area for improvement.

“While we’re encouraged by the increase in the seed dollars invested, the fact that the number of deals didn’t get out of the single digits raises significant concerns,” CED President Monica Doss said. “And the size of the deals indicates that companies getting funded are much farther along in the pipeline than we’ve historically seen. This creates a bottleneck which can easily impact future investing opportunities.

www.cednc.org

Southeast Venture Conference, February 29 – March 1, 2012 at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner, VA – Where Smart Money Meets Smart People.
www.seventure.org

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