Washington Sets Robust Pace for Venture Capital Funding in the Second Quarter

U.S. venture capital-backed companies notched a record 64 mega-financing deals in the second quarter involving fundraising rounds exceeding $100 million, including two Seattle-area companies that collectively raised $217 million, a recent PwC Money Tree analysis shows.

The top three VC deals in Washington for the second quarter ending June 30 involved Seattle-based sales-engagement software company Outreach, $114 million; Bellevue-based identity-authentication software company Auth0 Inc., $103 million; and Seattle-based sales-enablement tech firm Highspot, $60 million.

Driving the trend toward bigger deals, U.S. companies raised a record quarterly number of $100 million-plus VC rounds in Q2, with 64 mega-rounds accounting for nearly half of all funding raised, the report says.

Year to date through the second quarter, venture capital investment in Washington companies, primarily in the Seattle area, was at the highest level since 2015. A total of $1.21 billion in venture capital deals played out in the first half of 2019, including $735 million in the second quarter.

The Washington results track with the national level, with VC funding in the U.S. at $55 billion through the first half of the year, outpacing the amount raised through second quarter of last year, which ended with a total of $116 billion raised.

The Seattle/Tacoma metro area ranked sixth nationally among major metro areas in terms of the amount of venture capital funding raised in the second quarter, at $669 million, the PwC Money Tree report shows. Metro areas ranking ahead of Seattle were San Jose/San Francisco, at $13.7 billion for the quarter; New York/Newark, $4.1 billion; Boston/Worcester/Providence, $2.2 billion; Los Angeles, $1.6 billion; and San Diego, $808 million.

“Overall, we’re seeing healthy levels of investment in Washington,” says PwC Partner Tom Ciccolella.