The MoneyTree Report Maps 2011 Venture Capital Activity in the US : 22 % Increase in Investment YoY

Venture capitalists invested $28.4 billion in 3,673 deals in 2011, an increase of 22 percent in dollars and a 4 percent rise in deals over the prior year, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), based on data from Thomson Reuters.The amount of venture dollars invested in 2011 represents the third highest annual investment total in the past ten years.The MoneyTree Report measures cash-for-equity investments by the professional venture capital community in private emerging companies in the U.S. It is based on data provided by Thomson Reuters. The survey includes the investment activity of professional venture capital firms with or without a U.S. office, SBICs, venture arms of corporations, institutions, investment banks and similar entities whose primary activity is financial investing.

Double-digit increases in investment dollars in 2011 were spread across a number of industries,including the Clean Technology and Internet-Specific sectors. Investment dollars also increased across every stage of development category, with the exception of a 48 percent decrease in Seed Stage investments.

The Software industry maintained its status as the single largest investment sector for the year, with dollars rising 38 percent over 2010 to $6.7 billion in 2011, which was invested into 1,004 deals, a 7 percent rise in volume over the prior year. However, Software investing experienced a decline in the fourth quarter of 2011 with $1.8 billion going into 238 deals. Software was also the number one sector for dollars invested and total number of deals in Q4 and counted more than double the number of deals during the quarter than the second largest sector, Biotechnology.