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Venture capital keeps rolling in 2nd quarter [Austin American-Statesman :: ](Austin American-Statesman (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 22--Venture capital continued to flow into Central Texas companies in the second quarter, with software startups once again raking in the most dollars. A total of $163 million was raised by 29 companies during the quarter, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. That's a 36 percent increase from same quarter a year ago, when 20 companies received $120.2 million. Early-stage companies accounted for more than half of the deals, with 16 deals during the second quarter. Investments in young companies matters because it allows them to hire more workers, potentially expand their office space and accelerate product development and marketing. "Investors are making bets on early-stage companies, which means you see a lot of entrepreneurs starting new businesses and exploring new technologies," said Eric Hornsten, managing partner of the PricewaterhouseCoopers office in Austin. "It's a very strong funding environment right now, which mirrors the national trend." Nationwide, venture capitalists invested $13 billion in 1,114 deals in the second quarter. Silicon Valley and Bay Area companies received $7 billion of the total. U.S. venture investments for the first half of 2014 reached $22.7 billion, the highest first half total since 2001. "Not since the early 2000s have we witnessed this level of quarterly investment activity," said Bobby Franklin, CEO of the National Venture Capital Association. "Before alarmists declare a repeat of the dot-com bubble, it's important to keep in mind that a lot of this activity was driven by a handful of eye-popping investment rounds, including a record-setting funding round of $1.2 billion (in transportation startup Uber)." The Central Texas region's performance during the first six months of 2014 is far ahead of activity during the same period last year. So far this year, 51 companies have raised $360.3 million, a 31 percent increase over the $248 million received by 42 companies at this point last year. The six-month tally does not include funding received by Austin-based Surveying and Mapping Inc., which received $122.5 million from Austin Ventures in March. Thomson Reuters said the company, founded in 1994, was not counted because it was too senior-stage for the MoneyTree survey. The software industry was the largest investment sector nationally, with $6.1 billion going into 454 deals. In Austin, software also brought in the most money, with 15 companies receiving $98.5 million. Austin's biggest deal of the quarter was Mozido, a mobile payments company, which raised $73.5 million from a Boston-based investment adviser that the company has not named. The company, founded in 2007, said it will use the funding to launch its system for mobile payments and mobile commerce around the world. Austin venture dollars The following Central Texas companies raised money in the second quarter: Mozido, mobile payment platform, $73.5 million TrackingPoint Inc., precision guided firearm systems, $24 million Skyonic Corp., technology for carbon management, $12.5 million Buzz Points Inc., Loyalty and rewards programs, $8 million VUV Analytics Inc., vacuum ultraviolet optical technologies, $5.8 million Phunware Inc., mobile application software, $4.19 million StepOne Inc., self-service system software, $3.9 million Compare Metrics, adaptive commerce provider, $3.8 million Ortho Kinematics, spine diagnostics company, $3.7 million TrendKite Inc., software for qualitative analysis, $3.2 million Inova Labs, medical device company, $3 million Nitero, semiconductor company, $3 million TurnKey Vacation Rentals, service provider for rental vacation home owners, $3 million Unboundid, cloud identity management software, $2.5 million Zebra Imaging, digital holographic technology, $2.5 million M87, wireless network infrastructure software, $1.87 million Filament Labs, health care technology company, $1 million Wisegate, information technology research service, $1 million Kimbia, online fundraising and event management tools, $675,000 Incent Games, Web-based software application, $640,000 Stormpulse, software to monitor weather threats, $525,000 Ordoro Inc., order management, purchasing and inventory management, software, $438,000 Teleforce Inc., customer relationship management software, $250,000 Cheggin Inc., software company, $25,000 EyeQ Inc., in-person responsive marketing system, $25,000 LiveWire Inc., online tax preparation services, $25,000 Notorious Fashion Corp., app with lifestyle experts, $25,000 Octane Lending Inc., Loan application platform, $25,000 Innovari Inc., engineering services, not disclosed Source: Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association based on data from Thomson Reuters ___ (c)2014 Austin American-Statesman, Texas Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |