America’s venture-capital volcano spewed out $6.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, down 9 percent from the third quarter and off 11 percent from the same period in 2011, according to a new report.
But even though the torrent of cash has slowed, the number of deals inked held steady between the two quarters, the CB Insights report found.
“Lots of deals, fewer dollars,” said Anand Sanwal, CB Insights chief executive, whose analysis found 834 deals in the last quarter of 2012, down by just one from the previous quarter.
Also noteworthy was a drop in the number of seed investments, which hit a peak in the third quarter of last year, representing 42 percent of all deals. They took a more modest 30 percent in 2012’s final quarter.
New York and Massachusetts each captured 12 percent of the deals in a tie for second place behind VC stronghold California, which gobbled up 41 percent. Texas and Washington state tied for third, at 4 percent.
All told, New York state was able to capture $648 million in venture money across 102 deals, up from 82 in the third quarter of 2012 and 73 in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The Big Apple itself beat out all other cities in the fourth quarter in terms of deal volume, attracting $425 million across 59 deals.
And Sanwal said Silicon Alley is still strong.
“Mobile is a big opportunity for New York companies, as are areas like e-commerce, fintech, adtech and media. Those are industries all centered here,” Sanwal said.