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Venture capital surges to record levels in Colorado Springs, state and U.S.

By Wayne Heilman wayneh@gazette.com January 25, 2022 | updated 4 years ago

Investments in startup companies surged to record levels last year in Colorado Springs, the state and the nation, according to a report .

Colorado Springs venture capital investments accelerate in third quarter

Most of the $208.9 million invested in Colorado Springs startups last year went to Quantum Metric, which landed a record $200 million in January 2021 to make the company the first local technology “unicorn,” a startup that has grown to be worth $1 billion. Nine other local firms received nearly $9 million, including Monument-based medical device developer Live Fully, which received $200,000 from angel investors in November.

Colorado Springs venture firm adds $21 million for early startups

Last year’s total was more than 15 times the $13.5 million raised by Colorado Springs startups in 2020 and more than the $161.5 million raised in the previous seven years combined. The $200,000 invested in Live Fully was the only local startup investment in the fourth quarter. That money came from angel investors, who are wealthy individuals who make early investments to help companies grow beyond a product or service idea.

Venture capital funding surges to first-half records in Colorado, U.S.

Live Fully CEO Tom Vierzba said the company is trying to raise a total of $400,000  from angel investors by April 1 to get the firm’s product, a device that measures and continually adjusts the output of portable oxygen tanks based on the user’s needs, into clinical trials at National Jewish Health in Denver. The company also is trying to raise $2 million from investors in a subsequent funding round to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the device.

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Featured Local Savings

Startup funding statewide last year was more than double the 2020 total, reaching $6.52 billion in 448 deals with nearly-half invested in the final quarter of 2021. The fourth-quarter record total of $3.08 billion was more than the annual totals for either 2019 or 2020 and it included the nation’s third-largest venture deal for the quarter — $1.41 billion invested in Broomfield-based Sierra Space to continue development of its Dream Chaser space vehicle.

Venture capital funding sets record for Colorado Springs, nation

All but $400 million of last year’s total went to companies in the Denver and Boulder areas, each more than doubling the total invested in 2020. In other Colorado metro areas, 15 Fort Collins companies landed $151.9 million, five Greeley companies raised $8.65 million, Pueblo-based manufactured housing provider indieDwell secured $5.75 million and two Grand Junction firms raised $2 million.

Nationwide, startup investments nearly doubled to $329.6 billion in more than 17,000 deals, setting records in each quarter with $88.2 billion invested in the final quarter of the year. That’s nearly double the total from the fourth quarter of 2020 and almost equaled the annual total for 2017. The nation’s largest deal — $1.8 billion — went to Boston-area Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which is developing a fusion reactor to produce energy without creating nuclear waste.

Venture capital funding bypasses Colorado Springs in 2020

“The best news about these record achievements is that we are creating more American-made entrepreneurs than ever before,” Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of the National Venture Capital Association, said in a statement. “Entrepreneurs are our nation’s job creators who plant the seeds for the new high growth companies of tomorrow. These numbers show the massive impact our industry can have on our nation’s economic success.”

The report by Pitchbook, a Seattle-based research unit of Morningstar, and the National Venture Capital Association, is different from other reports tracking venture capital activity because it also includes angel investments from  individuals and “seed” investments from groups that back startups before they receive money from venture capital funds. PricewaterhouseCoopers no longer produces its quarterly MoneyTree Report (which included data on Colorado Springs) on venture capital funding.

Contact Wayne Heilman 636-0234

Facebook www.facebook.com/wayne.heilman

Twitter twitter.com/wayneheilman

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Wayne Heilman wayneh@gazette.com

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