Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Rocky Mountain Investments Total $300M For Q3

An analysis of the Techrockies.com venture capital database finds that $300M in funding has gone to Rocky Mountain area startups in Q3, down slightly from last quarter and well below last year's venture totals. According to tracking done by Techrockies in our daily coverage of high tech here, venture capital totals were down for the quarter from $391.75M raised in Q2, and down significantly from last year's Q3 totals of $510M in venture funding in the region.

The biggest deals in the quarter were AVA Solar, which raised $104.0M in a huge deal for the firm's photovoltaic modules; other big deals included $50M for WildBlue, yesterday's funding of $28.5M for Accellos, and $21.5M for Sierra Neuro.

The most active investors for the quarter were High Country Venture, with 3 deals, followed by DCM-Doll Capital Mangement, Canopy Group, Sierra Ventures, and Flywheel Ventures, all with two deals each.

On a state by state basis, Colorado by far dominated the venture raise for the region, with over $250M in funding, with Utah pulling in $21.8M in venture funding.

Techrockies tracks day-to-day venture capital activity in the Rocky Mountain region, and uses venture data disclosed by companies announcing funding; self-reported by both technology companies and venture firms; as well as regulatory filings and other sources. The totals reported may differ from other venture capital surveys, due to sources of information, timing of funding events, and classification of data. PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Association, and VentureOne will release their quarterly nationwide results of venture activity later this month.

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