A few big deals can skew venture capital data
This recent article in WRAL TechWire reminded us of the old saying that “All that glitters is not gold.”
As previously noted in articles in teknovation.biz, venture-backed U.S. firms raised $329.6 billion in capital in 2021, nearly doubling the previous annual record of $166.6 billion. About one percent of that funding – slightly more than $3.6 billion – went to 328 deals with North Carolina companies.
“Sounding good,” you might say, until the article notes that 69.4 percent of capital invested in the Tar Heel state in 2021 went to two firms: Cary’s Epic Games and Raleigh’s insightsoftware.
In Tennessee, data from the latest “PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor,” shows that start-ups in Nashville raised more than $870 million. Again, like North Carolina, more than one-half of the investments went to three companies, according to a recent article in Nashville Inno. Those companies were Monogram Health, Built Technologies Inc., and Wayspring.
The point: numbers frequently can be made to tell whatever story you want.
