Venture capital spending in Maryland hit a 19-year low in the third quarter of 2016, with a dozen companies raising $19.6 million.
That's down from $85.2 million the second quarter of 2016 and $144.2 million the same quarter last year, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is based on data from Thomson Reuters. The number of deals also are down, from 15 last quarter and 25 in the third quarter of last year.
"It's a low quarter for Maryland, there's no two ways about that," said Brad Phillips, the director of emerging company services at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
At the same time, Phillips said, a low quarter is not necessarily cause for concern. Venture capital investing always fluctuates in the Washington, D.C., area and Maryland, he said.
The area does not have an abundance of large deals, so when there is one, it's magnified. When there isn't a large deal, its absence also makes an impact, he said.
Maryland had a record year in 2015, with more than $888 million invested in 76 deals, including a massive $250 million raise by Tenable Network Security in Columbia.
"We don't think the total for the quarter is a reflection of Maryland's attractiveness as a state to start or grow a company, or to lure venture funding," Phillips said.
Maryland also had two deals in which the amount invested was not disclosed, and therefore are not included in the quarter's total, Phillips said. The data used in the MoneyTree Report is gathered from venture capital firms and startup companies, which sometimes decline to disclose the size of deals.
The state's biggest deal of the quarter was $10.35 million invested in Baltimore nanocrystal manufacturer Pixelligent Technologies by the Abell Foundation; The Bunting Family Office, the investment arm of former Noxell CEO George L. Bunting Jr.; and David Testa, a former chief investment officer at T. Rowe Price Group, among others. Pixelligent's nanocrystals are added to polymers and coatings to be used in LED lights, electronics screens and specialty glues.
Half of the 10 largest deals this quarter were with Baltimore companies. Medical device maker Clear Guide Medical, software developer Proscia Inc, BioMarker Strategies and AgeneBio Inc., both biotechnology companies, all received venture capital investments during the quarter.
Venture capital spending was down nationally, too, by about 32 percent. Venture capitalists invested $10.6 billion in 891 deals nationally in the third quarter of 2016.
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