The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) recently released its 2002 Annual Venture Report showing North Carolina's rise to third place nationally for overall life-science investments. The state also climbed to ninth place in overall venture capital investments.
Compiled from data generated by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association, the annual report included the following highlights:
In 2002, North Carolina ranked third nationally for total dollars raised by life-science companies. The $284.77 million raised accounted for 50.2 percent of the total capital raised in the state.
North Carolina placed ninth in 2002 for total dollars raised, compared to 16th in 2001. Local companies received $567.44 million in venture capital investments, which represents a decline of more than 18 percent from 2001. However, venture investments nationwide declined more than 49 percent from $44 billion in 2001 to $21 billion in 2002.
The Piedmont Triad area received a greater portion of the state's equity dollars than in years past. The area closed on $56.8 million in investments in 2002, an increase of more than 1000 percent from the $4.95 million raised in 2001.
When compared with the national aggregate, North Carolina's late-stage companies claimed a significantly higher proportion of the state's total dollars raised (53.1 percent versus 16.7 percent), demonstrating the growing maturity of the state's venture capital market.
CED President Monica Doss said the venture report demonstrates North Carolina's increasing role as a national player in venture financing. She said the report also sheds light on the strengths of North Carolina's venture financing climate, as well as areas for improvement.
"We're extremely pleased about North Carolina's venture progress in this uncertain economy. However, we mustn't rest on our laurels," Doss said. "The relative decline in seed and early stage investments is an important issue we all need to aggressively address. If we're to continue fostering a fertile investment environment, the state must capitalize on our strong scientific base throughout the research and technology pipeline."
CED's venture report was released in advance of CED's 20th Annual Venture conference, held April 22-23 at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. Twelve biotechnology companies made presentations during the event. Since 1999, venture presenters have raised over $1.5 billion in venture capital.