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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alan Fogg, Director of Communications
afogg@fceda.org;
703-790-0600
Fairfax County companies reap record levels of venture capital
Fairfax County, Virginia, August 24 1999 — Nine Fairfax County companies received a record $185.65 million in venture capital during the second quarter of 1999, according to figures compiled by the VentureOne research group and the MoneyTree Report ™ published by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Combined with the first quarter 1999 results of $44.65 million, more than $230 million has been invested in Fairfax County companies so far this year. With six months still to go, this surpasses the $187 million raised in all of 1998.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report, Fairfax County companies received $170.2 million in venture funding in the second quarter. That surpassed the totals received by companies in North Carolina ($163 million), Georgia ($160 million), Maryland ($71 million), Pennsylvania ($64 million), and Washington, D.C. ($62 million) reported by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report listed 17 companies in Virginia that received venture capital in the second quarter, including seven in Fairfax County. The Fairfax County share was 87 percent of the Virginia total.
The VentureOne report included two additional Fairfax County companies that received $15.4 million in funding.
Venture capital is funding provided to start-up companies in exchange for percentage of ownership in the firms. Seventeen venture capital firms are located in Fairfax County, as are law firms and banks that specialize in serving the venture community.
The seven firms and the amount of venture capital they received in the second quarter, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers:
- VIA Net.Works, Reston, $128 million.
- MainControl, Vienna, $13.9 million.
- Webmethods, Fairfax, $11.9 million.
- LifeMinders.com, Herndon, $10.6 million.
- American Health Sciences, McLean, $2.6 million.
- WomenCONNECT.com, McLean, $2.1 million.
- Cisco Systems, Herndon, $1.1 million.
The two additional firms listed in the VentureOne report are:
- Linguateq, McLean, $7.9 million.
- OneSoft, Annandale, $7.5 million.
Gerald L. Gordon, President of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, called the record funding level further evidence that the county has become a world center of commerce and trade. "Companies around the country and world are looking at Fairfax County not only as a place to do business but also as a place to find capital to expand their businesses," Gordon said.
The total for April, May and June eclipsed the previous quarterly record: $64 million in venture funding that Fairfax County companies received in the second quarter of 1998. Looking at the trend in another way, county companies received $54 million in venture funding in all of 1995.
The local record this quarter was part of a record $7.67 billion in venture capital invested with start-up companies and entrepreneurs nationwide, according to the MoneyTree Report.
The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority operates an aggressive capital attraction program managed by David Harvey. The program has two goals: One, assist entrepreneurs by bringing them together with venture capitalists and "angel" organizations; and two, increase the amount of venture activity in the county. Throughout 1999 the FCEDA is sponsoring a number of venture capital events locally, around the country and in Europe. For more information, visit the FCEDA’s Web Page at: www.FairfaxCountyEDA.org.
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Reporters and editors: Dr. Gordon is available for interviews. Also available is a list of the venture capital firms, venture-oriented banks and venture-oriented law firms with offices in Fairfax County.
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