Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Alan Fogg, Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org, 703-790-0600

Forty-seven Fairfax County IT companies lure $424.6m in venture capital in '01

County figure is 53 percent of Virginia venture capital sum

Fairfax County, Virginia, February 11, 2002 — Forty-seven Fairfax County-based information technology companies received more than $424.6 million in venture capital investment in 2001, according to figures compiled by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) and based on the MoneyTree Survey done by PricewaterhouseCoopers and other sources.

The Fairfax County dollar amount is 53.5 percent of the venture capital invested in Virginia technology companies during the year and 22.5 percent of the total invested in Washington, D.C., area companies (including Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and West Virginia) during the year, the FCEDA said. The number of deals involving Fairfax County companies made up 48 percent of the Virginia total and 28.7 percent of the Washington-region total. 

In line with the decline of venture capital investment nationally last year, the amount of venture capital invested in Fairfax County dropped from 2000, when 107 companies received $1.25 billion in investments, and 1999, when 55 companies received $614.5 million in investments.

 "We are proud that in a declining technology economy Fairfax County businesses still accounted for more than half of all the venture capital investment in Virginia last year and that it got much of the IT-specific venture investment for the entire Washington region," said Gerald L. Gordon, president and CEO of the FCEDA. "Fairfax County has established itself as the venture capital base of the Washington area when investment increases again."

Thirty-four venture capital firms and organizations have offices in Fairfax County, one of the highest concentrations of any jurisdiction in the Washington area.

Fairfax County totals for 2001 include $64.3 million that was invested in 14 companies during the fourth quarter of the year. Fairfax County companies that received investments during that period are involved primarily in software development and Internet monitoring and security. (more)

Fairfax County companies that received venture capital investment in the fourth quarter of 2001, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTreeTM Survey:

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 information. 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.

Note: The PricewaterhouseCoopers Money Tree Survey in the first, second and third quarters of 2001 was produced in partnership with Venture One.

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