If you’re a regular reader of Silicon Florist, you probably have caught on to the fact that I tend to focus on more anecdotal evidence and word of mouth than research driven sorts of things. But I appreciate the researched stuff. And that’s why I am glad that there are real journalists who dig into these sorts of things. Like startup fundraising in Oregon in 2019.
Here’s what those journalists had to say about last year and the capital invested.
Portland Business Journal: One big deal boosts Portland venture capital investment above $800M in 2019
As expected, 2019 saw record amounts of venture capital invested into companies in the Portland region. The final numbers top out at a whopping $884.52 million across 106 deals according to the latest data from the Venture Monitor.
Portland Business Journal: List Leaders: Meet the 10 local companies that raised the most equity funding in 2019
These 10 companies have gathered a total of 45 funding rounds amounting to $1.1 billion since they were founded. The big ideas that inspired investors to fork over cash to them include a blood test to analyze cancers, a new form of battery made from nontoxic abundant materials, superfood coffee creamers, a software platform to manage vacation property rentals, global distribution of CBD-infused consumer products, online business training courses, identity verification software and others.
The Oregonian: Oregon Insight: Startup funding hit another peak in 2019
Indeed, nearly half of last year’s total Oregon startup investment went to one Portland company, Vacasa, which is building a national business managing vacation rental properties. Vacasa raised $319 million in October, positioning it to be the state’s first big new company in more than two decades.
