First quarter venture capital investment in New England jumped 29 percent over investment in the fourth quarter of 2006, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers New England Money Tree report.
New England trails only California’s Silicon Valley in venture funding for private companies.
According to the report the $975.5 million invested between January and March in New England is the highest quarterly total in three years.
The total represents a decrease in deal volume compared to the fourth quarter of 2006, according to the report.
With fewer but bigger deals, the average deal total for the first quarter in New England was $10.3 million.
According to the report, biotechnology companies led venture investing with a 32 percent share of all venture deals, and an average deal size of $18.2 million.
Behind biotechnology were software, medical devices, and media and entertainment.
The most active deal-makers during the quarter were General Catalyst Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Atlas Venture Partners, Flagship Ventures and MPM Capital.
