Q4 2005 Cleantech investment tops $502 million

2005 cleantech investment hits $1.6 billion surpassing semiconductors as 5th largest North American venture capital investment category

• ANN ARBOR, MI, March 8, 2006 – The Cleantech Venture Network LLC today announced in their
• Cleantech Venture Monitor™ report that a record $502 million in venture capital was invested in
• cleantech during Q4 2005 in North America. This investment represented an 18.1% increase over Q3
• 2005 and a 59.8% increase over Q4 2004. There were 73 separate deals done in the quarter, averaging
• $6.88 million, up 11.5% over the Q3 2005 average. According to research data to be officially released
• March 21st at Cleantech Venture Forum IX in San Francisco, the total 2005 North American Venture
• Capital investment in the cleantech category totaled more than $1.6 billion, an increase of $423
• million, or 34.9% over 2004.
•  
• “Cleantech investment accounted for 9.9% of all North American Venture Capital investment in Q4
• compared to 7.8% in Q3 2005 and 5.5% in Q4 2004,” said Nicholas Parker, Chairman and Co-
• Founder of Cleantech Capital Group LLC. Parker goes on to state that “We are very pleased to see that
• this is the 6th consecutive quarter of increasing venture investment in the cleantech investment
• category moving it to the fifth largest VC investment category behind Biotechnology, Software,
• Medical, and Telecommunications”.
•  
• “Cleantech is an increasingly attractive investment category with latter stage deals continuing to
• receive the bulk of investment capital accounting for $361.4 million of the $502 million total”, said
• Keith Raab, CEO and Co-Founder of Cleantech Capital Group LLC. Raab continues “The five largest
• investments in Q4 accounted for 32.3% of the total and were made in Nanosys for $40 million, $32
• million in Cellfor, $30.2 million in Lilliputan Systems, and $30 million each in Advent Solar and
• Synthetic Genomics”.
•  
• The Cleantech Venture Monitor™, the leading source for quarterly cleantech deal information, has
• tracked more than $8.3 billion in cleantech deals since 1999. “We will officially release the drill-down
• from the Cleantech Venture Monitor™ to over 400 investors and global thought leaders on March 21st
• at the Cleantech Venture Forum IX at the San Francisco Marriott,” said Keith Raab, CEO and Co-
• Founder of the Cleantech Capital Group. “The analysis of various sectors and regional performance
• provides revealing information for investors, senior policy makers, and business executives alike and
• will stimulate interesting discussions,” Mr. Raab continues.
•  
• This quarter’s data brings the total amount of North American venture capital invested in the cleantech
• category since 1999 to more than $8.3 billion. In the recently released comprehensive “Cleantech
• Venture Capital Report -2006”, Cleantech Capital Group estimates that capital requirements of
• cleantech companies between 2006 and 2009 may reach $8.7 billion in North America.
• About the Cleantech Venture Network, LLC
• The Cleantech Venture NetworkTM LLC is a membership group that brings investors and cleantech
• entrepreneurs together to do deals through the Cleantech Venture Forum™ series of events. Cleantech
• Venture Network™ also provides the industry with research reports, advisory services, and various
• online services. The organization’s mission is to accelerate the next and necessary wave of venture
• innovation and investment worldwide through their network of over 900 affiliate investors.
•  
• The organization has tracked more than $8.3 billion invested in cleantech ventures since 1999. Of the
• $5billion raised in the cleantech category since 2002, over $400 million has been raised by companies
• presenting at Cleantech Venture Forums. Cleantech Venture Network has offices in Canada, Europe
• and the US. Further information can be found at www.cleantech.com or by calling (+1) 810-224-4310