Although we are approaching the one-year mark for the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States’ VC industry closed out 2020 strong, with investments reaching a new annual record, according to a recent report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in partnership with CBInsights.
All told, U.S.-based investments hit an all-time high in 2020, with companies raising a total of nearly $130 billion across more than 6,000 deals — a 14 percent year-over-year increase from the amount raised in 2019. More than $36 billion of that VC funding was raised in Q4 alone.
This level of growth was mirrored in individual states too, including Colorado, which saw its third-highest annual investment amount last year. The state raised a total of $2.3 billion in 2020, $858 million of which was raised in Q4. In fact, Colorado was just one of three states to double its VC investments in the fourth quarter, joined only by Georgia and Pennsylvania, according to the report.
The report also found that some of the biggest Colorado-based rounds last quarter were in healthcare, the industry responsible for the second-highest amount of VC activity in Q4. This included companies like Boulder-based biotech startup SomaLogic, which raised a massive $121 million Series A in November, then an $81 million series extension a month later.
Other big fundings last quarter included a $75 million Series E round for Louisville-based cybersecurity startup JumpCloud, and a $65 million Series B round for Golden-based autonomous truck startup Outrider.
On the metro level, Denver saw its third-highest year of VC funding on record in 2020 despite a dip in the number of deals. The city also saw a “significant uptick” in Q4 funding specifically, according to the report, with a 263 percent quarter-over-quarter increase compared to Q3 numbers.
Overall, when it comes to venture capital, Colorado appears to have capped off a rather successful year with a record-making last quarter. This, plus the apparent onslaught of startups relocating to Colorado from larger tech markets like San Francisco and New York in 2020, puts the state in an interesting position for 2021.
