Texas, Midwest see big rebound in venture investing

Venture investments jumped 28 percent in the second quarter with some unexpected regions feeling the biggest shot in the arm, according to data on the U.S. market from PricewaterhouseCoopers and CB Insights.

The MoneyTree Report from the two organizations put investments for the three-month period at $18.4 billion, which is 16 percent below the $21.78 billion captured by a separate report from PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.

What drove the second quarter was a return to large deal making. Thirty-one rounds of $100 million or more took place, the highest total since the third quarter of 2015, the MoneyTree Report found.

What’s worth noting is the apparent strength of such regions as the Midwest and Texas. Investments in New York also rebounded sharply.

Along the Silicon Valley corridor from San Jose to San Francisco, investments rose 22 percent. In New England, they fell 26 percent.

In contrast, Texas saw investments rise more than 200 percent to $803 million, with the area’s deal total leaping to 58. That compares with $237 million and 38 deals in the first quarter, the MoneyTree study found. The region saw the $255 million funding of Sunnova Energy, which helped its dollar total.

The Midwest also saw a solid quarter with $977 million going to startups, a 118 percent rise even as the deal count remained largely unchanged. Investments were $448 million in the first quarter, the MoneyTree Report said. Key to the quarter was the $500 million funding of Outcome Health.

New York saw its fortunes recover with $2.78 billion earmarked for young companies, an 81 percent rise from the first quarter. New York saw the $485 million funding of Group Nine Media and a $325 million deal for Peloton Interactive.

Investments grew in the southeast, northwest and in the Los Angeles/Orange County region. They fell in the Washington D.C. region.

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