According to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) report, Charlottesville is the place where startups and venture capital increase the most. In 5 years, from 2010-2015 tech startups backed up by venture capital have increased by 55% yearly.
The report was released Wednesday last week, based on data from Thomson Reuters. According to press release from NVCA the report is compiled by analyzing the capital deployed to 3,662 companies located in 133 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in 2015. NVCA President and CEO Bobby Franklin revealed that people should not have to lived in either San Francisco, New York or Boston to receive venture capital funding for their business,.
Furthermore, CEO Franklin said, "There are pockets of innovation all across the United States, and as long as you have a groundbreaking idea with high-growth potential you are well positioned to attract venture capital funding to help grow your business,"
San Fransisco-Oakland-Freemont is still the top area for venture capital investment, with 797 companies attracting $21.0 billion in 2015. Followed by New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island ith 416 startups attracting $7.0 billion. However, Charlottesville had a huge potential for high tech startups.
Charlottesville is a home of University of Virginia, a well-known research university founded by U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson in 1819. As a research university, the University of Virginia has a long tradition of research which affected tech startups in Charlottesville. The report showed that Charlottesville experienced the greatest growth of venture capital at 55.2%.
Charlottesville, as reported by News Plex, is the fastest-growing venture capital ecosystem in the United States. Within 5 years, venture funding in Charlottesville increased from $250,000 in 2010 to $27.7 million in 2015.
NVCA acknowledge University of Virginia (UVa) as a driving force behind the rapid growth. As 6 of 9 leading companies have worked directly with the University of Virginia Licensing and Venture Group to start and grow a company that will bring university research in the commercial market. Those nine leading companies in Charlottesville were primary recipients of $27.7 million investments.
Executive Director of the Licensing and Venture Group in University of Virginia Michael Straightiff said to UVa Today, "Venture capital investment is predicated on the seed capital that these companies receive in order to launch and grow. Often these companies raise angel capital, grant funding and state investment. Our Seed Fund is intended to be a complement to these resources to grow companies that will commercialize UVA technologies and opportunities more expeditiously."
As the NVCA report showed, Charlottesville is the fastest growing startup ecosystem since 2010. With a 55% annual increase in venture capital funding in five years, University of Virginia played a very important role as one of the oldest research university in United States.
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