Venture Capital Investment is on the Rise in Colorado: Four Reasons Why

November 5, 2012

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Recently, the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers announced a national decline in venture capital investments during the third quarter of 2012. In Colorado, however, venture capital is on the rise.

According to a recent MoneyTree report, in the last quarter alone, Colorado recorded 28 venture capital transactions totaling more than $180 million for Q3 and more than $471 million so far in 2012.

Not only does this make us a top state for venture capital activity, investments in Colorado companies have continued to increase significantly each quarter of 2012. In fact, total investments made at the end of Q3 2012 were $23 million more than at the end of Q3 last year.

So why have investments picked up in Colorado? Consider these four facts:

1. In 2011, Denver ranked as a top 10 city for tech startups with $584.6 million invested in 85 companies last year. This influx of technology companies is helping to change the vibe of our downtown with 13 companies migrating to LoDo in the past year.  
2. In July of this year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that Denver would be one of three locations for its new satellite offices. Since Colorado ranks among the top states for entrepreneurial activity, the new satellite patent office in our region will make it very efficient for our inventors and technology companies to develop their intellectual property here and attract more investors as well.
3. Through challenging economic times, Colorado has maintained top-five rankings for venture capital as a percent of state GDP, initial public offerings, Small Business Innovation Research Grants, and entrepreneurial activity.
4. Nationally, the energy industry led venture capital activity in the third quarter and in Metro Denver, energy industry investments accounted for $64.2 million in Q3 funding.

This latest venture capital news really gets us really excited for our companies and the future of investment within our region. We anticipate that Colorado will continue to rank well in venture capital.