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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alan Fogg,
Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org, 703-790-0600
Fairfax County companies again lure record amount of venture capital
Investments in county companies top $1 billion for last year
Fairfax County, Virginia, August 15, 2000 -- The $338.8 million in funding is a record for Fairfax County and puts the total for the last four quarters at more than $1 billion. The amount of private equity financing has risen steadily in the last year: $327.3 million (first quarter '00), $222.3 million (fourth quarter '99), and $161.9 million (third quarter '99).
The $282.025 million total from the MoneyTree Report is 50.3 percent of the Virginia total and 24 percent of the total for Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., combined. The Fairfax County total reported by PricewaterhouseCoopers outstrips totals for New Jersey ($246 million), Washington, DC ($188 million) and Ohio ($131 million).
"Reaching the $1 billion mark is especially remarkable when the total venture capital funding for Fairfax County companies was only $100 million in 1997," said Dr. Gerald L. Gordon, president of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA). "Despite the market pull-back this spring, extraordinary companies, such as those in Fairfax County, continue to find funding."
These Fairfax County firms received venture capital in the second quarter of 2000, according to the MoneyTree Report:
- Career Rewards (McLean), $3.3 million
- eCommerce Industries (Vienna), $44 million
- eMotion (Vienna), $34 million
- Exent Technologies (Reston), $11.45 million
- EyeCast (Herndon), $30 million
- iKimbo (Reston), $6.375 million
- Linguateq (McLean), $5 million
- Longitude Systems (Chantilly), $8.25 million
- MetroBook Computer Corporation (Chantilly), $0.1 million
- Motient (Reston), $25 million
- netDecide (Falls Church), $7 million
- OneSoft (McLean), $32 million
- QB Inc. (McLean),$5 million
- Sandbox (Reston), $20.15 million
- Scoreboard (Herndon), $25 million
- ServiceBench (Fairfax), $0.2 million
- SI International (McLean), $1.1 million
- The .Com Group (Reston), $10 million
- WorldStor.com (Reston), $2 million
- WPSH Media Inc. (Reston), $10 million
- zGraffiti (McLean), $2.1 million
In addition to those listed in the MoneyTree Report, other venture capital sources reported another three companies received $56.8 million in funding during the quarter.
- FOLIOfn (Vienna), $15 million
- Promisemark (Fairfax), $4 million
- Ztango.com (Reston), $37.8 million
Venture capital is funding provided to start-up companies in exchange for a percentage of ownership in the privately held firms. Twenty-four venture capital firms are located in Fairfax County, as are an increasing number of law firms, accountancies and banks that specialize in serving the venture community.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) operates an aggressive capital attraction program with two goals: Assist entrepreneurs by bringing them together with venture capitalists and "angel" organizations, and increase the amount of venture activity in the county.
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