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Local Venture Capital Investment Skyrockets

L.A. County companies raised $472 million in venture capital in the second quarter, a 52 percent increase from the prior quarter, according to the latest Money Tree Report released Friday. The report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, which uses quarterly data collected by Thomson Reuters, measures cash-for-equity investments made by venture capitalists in private U.S. companies. NantHealth, a Culver City biotech owned by L.A. billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, brought in the seventh largest VC investment nationwide, with $135 million raised in May. The largest deal in the greater Valley was for Zinc Matrix Power Inc., a Camarillo company that develops rechargeable and alkaline batteries. The firm received $10 million. In addition, data analysis firm Connectivity Inc. in Burbank received about $6.3 million; Spotlight Ticket Management Inc. in Calabasas, which automates all aspects of sports and entertainment ticketing, received $6 million; and MobileCause Inc. in Calabasas, which provides integrated fundraising platforms, received nearly $6 million. The most active local venture and angel investment groups include Tech Coast Angels, with eight investments; Pasadena Angels, with five investments; Upfront Ventures, with four investments; and Redpoint Ventures, with three. Despite large gains among L.A. startups, funding in Southern California – Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties – remained relatively steady at $761 million, down three-tenths of point from first quarter levels. Statewide, investments in the second quarter boomed, rising by 40 percent to come in at just under $8 billion in funding, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the $13 billion raised nationwide.

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