Silicon Valley has long been a funnel for astounding amounts of venture capital financing. In the year 2000, upstart investors poured $9 million into the region’s tech companies in a single quarter. That was in the halycon days before the dot com bubble burst, but venture capitalists remain just as committed to Silicon Valley as they have always been.
According to a report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, tech companies in and around the Bay Area rasied $6 billion in venture capital funding in just the first quarter of 2015. That represents a 6.9% drop from the last quarter of 2014 in which $6.5 billion was raised, but the numbers still demand attention.
That’s because despite the dip, the $6 billion represents the third highest venture capital funding total raised by Silicon Valley in the last 14 years. Further illustrating the trend, one Menlo Park-based venture capital firm, New Enterprise Associates, raised $3.2 billion on their own which they plan to invest in startups and emerging technologies.
Investments are expected in companies throughout the tech sector, but several have already emerged as clear winners in the fight for funding. The ride sharing service Uber raised $1billion, and their direct competitor Lyft raised another $530. Pinterest was able to raise $367.1 million.
In addition to the sharing economy, the banking and lending sector seem to be a particular area of interest for venture capitalists. Last year the peer-to-peer lending service Lending Club became California’s largest IPO, raising $1 billion dollars on their own, and investment has been heavy in apps and web services designed to optimize and streamline banking and finance. In fact, four out of the ten largest funding rounds went to tech companies involved with finance or consumer financial services.
Biotech has been another big winner of late. Companies in this industry raised $573.9 billion from venture capitalists, the third highest total ever recorded over a quarter. Biotech has traditionally been seen as a risky bet for investors, but recent high-profile successes have sparked a gambling spirit and money has flowed into the industry.
Silicon Valley may have received the lion’s share of venture capital last quarter, but high dollar figures flowed to other areas as well. Los Angeles, for example, raised $1.6 billion overall, three times the amount they earned over the same period last year.
So what does all this mean for job seekers?
It’s safe to conclude that the Bay Area specifically, and California generally, are the place to be for ambitious tech professionals that want to work for today’s hottest startups. But as we revealed in our last post about tech hubs across the country, opportunities are not limited to the West Coast. Find exciting prospects wherever you are by working with the specialized recruiters at The Squires Group.
