Venture capitalists and the state of Maryland invested nearly $84 million in biotechnology, software and energy startups in the first three months of this year, according to a report released Friday.
The early and late-stage investments were spread among 12 firms, according to the report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, which uses data from Thomson Reuters.
A host of investors gave a combined $25 million to Vtesse Inc., a Gaithersburg-based biotechnology firm that is developing drugs for Niemann-Pick disease type C, a genetic disorder.
Nationwide, venture investments declined 10 percent from the previous quarter to $13.4 billion, according to the report, which said investments are typically less in the beginning of a year.
But in Maryland, the $83.7 million invested between January and March was up from about $70 million in the same period last year. Overall investment in Maryland firms fell to about $360 million last year from about $649 million in 2013.
Other top first-quarter deals included $20 million in later-stage funding for Lookingglass Cyber Solutions Inc., a cybersecurity software company with offices in Baltimore. Bowie-based SemaConnect Inc., which is developing charging stations for electric vehicles, took in nearly $16 million.
Other deals in the Baltimore area included $10.75 million for Columbia-based software company Lotame Solutions Inc.; $2 million for Citelighter Inc., an education software company; and $100,000 for Catonsville-based cybersecurity company Ridgeback Network Defense Inc.
The Maryland Technology Development Corp. made some of the smaller investments, including to Ridgeback and a $100,000 investment in Baltimore-based Strajillion, a firm developing a digital tool for parents to monitor their children's social media use. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development invested in companies that included Baltimore-based GrayBug, a firm developing drug-delivery therapies for the treatment of eye diseases.