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Software, socks lead venture capital push [The Orange County Register :: ](Orange County Register (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) July 23--A Culver City-based software company focused on using big data to improve patient diagnosis and a specialty socks retailer out of San Clemente were among the top recipients of venture-capital backing last quarter in Los Angeles and Orange counties, one report shows. NantHealth, started by billionaire doctor-turned-entrepreneur Patrick Soon-Shiong, in May raised $135 million, the largest deal in the region and seventh largest in the nation, according to the quarterly MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. Celgene Corp. and two undisclosed firms were listed as investors in that deal. Stance, which specializes in socks, raised the most in Orange County last quarter, completing a nearly $26 million round. Mercato Partners is listed as that deal's investor, the report shows. More than $538 million in venture-capital money flowed to startups in Los Angeles and Orange counties last quarter, marking a 24 percent increase from the same time last year. That jump can be attributed to the monster-sized investment secured by NantHealth, a privately held company that's working with BlackBerry to produce a smartphone geared toward the healthcare business. BlackBerry invested in the company in April. The device, which could be used to see CT scans, may come out as early as the end of the year, according to a Reuters report. Deals in the software sector totaled almost $302 million, making up 40 percent of total investments in Los Angeles and Orange counties last quarter, the MoneyTree report shows. Nationally, software investments exceeded $6 billion, pushed by a small group of high-dollar deals. "When we step back, we not only see technology as a mega-trend impacting the way we live, but it's also disrupting entire industries by bringing the suppliers even closer to consumers," said HJ Paik, director of the Southern California emerging company services practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, in a statement. Contact the writer: [email protected] ___ (c)2014 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) Visit The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) at www.ocregister.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |