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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alan Fogg,
Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org, 703-790-0600
Fairfax County Companies Lure $108m in Venture Capital in Q3, FCEDA Says
County figure is about 72 percent of northern Virginia sum
Fairfax County, Virginia, November 12, 2001 — Eight Fairfax County-based technology companies received more than $108 million in venture capital investment in the third quarter of 2001, according to the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers Money Tree Survey in partnership with Venture One.
The dollar amount invested in Fairfax County companies during July, August and September led all Washington-area jurisdictions. The amount was 71.9 percent of the funds invested in companies in northern Virginia and 33.1 percent of the total for Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., combined. Fairfax County also led all Washington-area localities in the number of companies receiving investments during the quarter (eight out of 37, 21.6 percent).
The Fairfax County companies that received investments in the third quarter are involved in a range of information technology fields, including software development, communications equipment, data warehousing, Internet monitoring and security, and consulting.
The third quarter numbers bring the 2001 total so far to $360.5 million invested in 33 Fairfax County companies. In line with national trends, that is down from 2000 and 1999 levels but far ahead of the 1998 pace.
"Venture capital is down just about everywhere, but companies that are developing what the IT market needs still are finding investors and Fairfax County remains the best place in the Washington area to bring the two sides together," said Gerald L. Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org).
Thirty-four venture capital firms and organizations have offices in Fairfax County, up from 20 at the beginning of 2000.
- The MoneyTree Survey identified these Fairfax County-based firms that received venture capital in the third quarter:
- Agari Mediaware, $6 million
- Ai Metrix, $23 million
- BioNetrix, $16 million
- Blue Ridge Networks, $8 million
- comScore Networks, $15 million
- Membershare, $230,000
- MindSHIFT, $40 million
- XtremeSpectrum, amount not available
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority promotes Fairfax County as a business and technology center. The FCEDA assists businesses by identifying possible sites and facilities, and is a source for up-to-date demographic and economic statistics. The FCEDA maintains a capital attraction program to link entrepreneurs and start-up companies with funding sources. Another program targets small, minority and women-owned businesses. The FCEDA maintains marketing offices in London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.
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