VC-backed companies in Massachusetts raised $4.2B in 2014 across 346 deals, up 37% year-over-year on a funding basis and 9% on a deal basis. The Bay State saw two $1B+ quarters last year, including Q4 which was a multi-year high. The $1.6B in 93 deals in Q4’14 was driven by Moderna’s $450M Series E.
The big Q4 was a good rebound from a Q3’14 which saw $700M invested across just 65 deals, the lowest quarterly total in the past two years.
Moderna and Actifio headline 2014’s top deals
The big year for MA-based VC investment was partially due to the previously-mentioned $450M to Moderna, but as seen below, a high number of more modestly sized investments led to the high financing numbers. While the top ten deals raised a cumulative $973M, there were over 60 $20M+ deals. Data management company Acitifio joined the $1 billion club when it raised $100M at a $1.1B valuation from Tiger Global Management, A16Z, and North Bridge Venture Partners, among others, while Simplisafe rounded out the top 3 with its $57M Series A, another go-it-alone bet by Sequoia Capital.
Internet leads deal share but Healthcare dominates dollar share
Internet companies captured the highest number of VC deals of any sector in 2014, with 37% of deals. Healthcare trailed, as deal share fell from 30% in 2013 to 26% in 2014. Mobile was the only other sector with a deal share greater than 10%, as 14% of all VC deals went to MA-based Mobile companies.
While Internet may have led deal share, Healthcare continues to garner the bulk of the dollars in Massachusetts, as Healthcare companies accounted for 46% of all VC dollars in the state. Five of the top ten deals in Mass in 2014 went to Healthcare companies, while only one Internet deal broke the top ten (Acquia’s $50M Series F).
The full breakdown below.
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