Press Release
Contact:
Robert Albright |
Phone:
919-549-7500 ext.123 |
CED Venture Report: North Carolina Ranks Among Top Ten in Venture Investing
Places 3rd Nationally in Biotech Fundings; CED's Venture 2003 Offers Best Insight into NC Venture Environment
April 8, 2003, Research Triangle Park, NC - The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) today released its 2002 annual Venture Report, which showed North Carolina's steady climb to rank in the top ten nationally in venture investments for the first time. Equally impressive was North Carolina's ranking third nationally for life science investments. The report (www.cednc.org/e-source/pubs/nc/venture/2002.pdf) was released in advance of CED's 20th annual Venture conference, which will be held April 22 and 23 at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill.
Among the most important findings of CED's 2002 Venture Report:
- For the first time ever, in 2002 North Carolina ranked in the top ten nationally for venture investments by placing ninth (in 2001, the state placed 16th), with local companies receiving $567.44 million in venture capital investments - a decline of over 18 percent from 2001. However, venture investments nationwide declined more than 49% from $44 billion in 2001 to $21 billion in 2002.
- In 2002, North Carolina ranked third nationally in terms of total dollars raised by life science sector companies. The $284.77 million raised for life science companies in North Carolina accounted for 50.2% of the total capital raised in the state.
- The Triad (High Point, Winston-Salem and Greensboro) received a significantly greater portion of the state's equity dollars than in years past. The Triad closed on $56.8 million in investments in 2002, an increase of over 1000% from the $4.95 million raised in 2001.
- North Carolina late stage companies, when compared with the national aggregate, claimed a significantly higher proportion of the state's total dollars raised (53.1% versus 16.7%), demonstrating the growing maturity of the state's venture capital market.
CED President Monica Doss said the Venture Report showed North Carolina's increasing role as a national player in venture financing. She said the report also shed light on the strengths of North Carolina's venture financing climate, as well as areas for improvement.
"We're extremely pleased about North Carolina's venture progress in this uncertain economy. However, we mustn't rest on our laurels," Doss said. "The relative decline in seed and early stage investments is an important issue we all need to aggressively address. If we're to continue fostering a fertile investment environment, the state must capitalize on our strong scientific base throughout the research and technology pipeline."
CED's Venture 2003 conference will complement the Venture Report by showcasing North Carolina's increasing role in venture financing. In addition to presentations from some of the state's most promising innovation companies, Venture 2003 also features leading industry speakers and a discussion about future technologies from some of the region's top university scientists. Since 1999, Venture presenters have raised over $1.5 billion in venture capital.
About Venture 2003: CED's upcoming 20th annual Venture 2003 - where great minds meet smart money - is scheduled for April 22-23, 2003 at The Friday Center in Chapel Hill, NC. Last year's conference, Venture 2002 drew a crowd of more than 850 investors, service professionals, entrepreneurs and others involved in the entrepreneurial funding process from throughout the United States. Interested parties should visit the conference Web site at www.cednc.org/venture/2003.
About CED: The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, located in Research Triangle Park, NC, is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to stimulate the creation and growth of high-impact companies in the greater Research Triangle region. CED provides education, mentoring and capital formation resources to new and existing high-growth entrepreneurs through annual conferences, seminars, workshops and monthly programs on entrepreneurial management and finance. CED is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation with more than 4,000 members representing 1,100 entrepreneurial companies, financiers and professional firms. www.cednc.org