MetroWest Nets Millions In Q4 Venture Capital
In the 41 communities of MetroWest, software and medical device companies dominated the venture capital take in the fourth quarter.
In all, 13 companies spanning from Westborough to Westford brought in $38.7 million in venture and equity funding during the quarter, according to data from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association.
The bulk of the money was put into the software and medical device sectors, which fits a national trend.
Software Takes Top Spot
Natick-based Nasuni Corp., a software company that makes cloud-based storage products, grabbed the top spot in MetroWest for the quarter, bringing in a $20-million Series C round from four investors.
MetroWest495 Biz readers will recall a story earlier this week about one of Nasuni's newest clients, a major automobile components maker based in Michigan. Nasuni has raised a total of $43 million since 2009.
Local Medical Tech Sector Remains Strong
Taking in the second-biggest haul during the quarter was Southborough-based Synapdx Corp., an early-stage lab services company that's developing a blood test for earlier detection of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Synapdx received $6 million in December from two investors. The company raised $9 million in a Series A round in 2010.
Third was Acton's Azuki Systems, an expansion-stage software firm that makes multi-screen video delivery platforms. Azuki raised $4 million during the quarter, bringing its total for 2012 to $9.1 million. The company has raised $28.1 million since 2007.
Fourth was Natick-based Convergent Dental, a medical device startup that incorporated in Jan. 2012 and raised $2.7 million. Convergent doesn't have a very detailed website yet, but according to Long River Venture Partners — which has offices in Marlborough and Amherst and lists Convergent in its portfolio — the company is developing a dental laser that will enable dentists to perform procedures more quickly and perform preventative work that wasn't previously possible.
Fifth was Kitsy Lane Inc., a Maynard-based company that has developed an e-commerce platform for clothing and jewelry retailers. Kitsy received $2 million during the quarter.
Other MetroWest venture recipients in the fourth quarter included Natick-based OutSmart Power Systems; Westford-based Biobehavioral Diagnostics; Holliston-based Advanced Dx; Westborough-based OnePin Inc.; Chelmsford-based OurStage Inc.; Sudbury-based Embera Neurotherapeutics; Holliston-based Rypos Inc.; and Westborough-based BurstPoint Networks.
Broader Trends
Venture capital investments and deals in the United States fell in 2012 for the first time in three years.
Total dollars invested fell 10 percent to $26.5 billion and the number of deals dropped 6 percent, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In the fourth quarter, investments fell 3 percent and deal volume rose 5 percent.
For the year, Massachusetts companies brought in $3.03 billion, down from $3.13 billion in 2011. The Bay State held the second spot in total investments, second only to California.
While the clean tech and life sciences sectors experienced double-digit drops across the country during the year, the software sector helped offset losses with a gain of 10 percent in investment dollars to $8.3 billion and an 8 percent increase in deal volume compared to the third quarter.
The software industry remains the largest investment sector for VCs and other equity investors.
And though medical device saw 13 percent less money invested in 2012, it rebounded a bit in the fourth quarter with a 32-percent bump in invested dollars over the prior quarter.
Companies in all stages of development experienced declines in investments during year, though a shift from seed-stage investments to early-stage investments could be seen. Early stage deal volume ticked up 5 percent during the year, the only such category to see an increase in volume.
WBJ Web Partners
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