press releases

Nearly 1 in 10 venture deals now in Clean Technologies: San Francisco venture forum sold out.

 

  • Ann Arbor, MI – July 15, 2003 – Just over $325 million was invested in 57
  • emerging cleantech companies in the first quarter of 2003, accounting for just
  • under 9% of overall venture activity, according to the most recent issue of the
  • Cleantech Venture Monitor released today. 2003 first quarter cleantech
  • investments almost doubled the amount invested in the first quarter of 2002, and
  • increased by nearly 50% over the last quarter.
  •  
  • Highlights of the first quarter include:
  • • Cleantech investments are up 93% (compared to Q1 2002) and 48.4%
  • (compared to Q4 2002) to $325.3 million.
  • • Average cleantech deal size grew to $5.7 million
  • • Energy related investments grew 71% (over Q4) to $123.6 million
  • • 40% of cleantech investments were made into west coast companies
  • • Follow-on investments captured 59% of the overall cleantech dollars
  •  
  • “While there appears to be a greater concentration of capital in a smaller number
  • of deals”, says Nicholas Parker, Cleantech Venture Network Chairman, “there is
  • an ever increasing number of investors entering the cleantech field. With new
  • cleantech-oriented funds coming on stream and traditional venture funds putting
  • their toes in the cleantech water, this sector is one of the few exceptions to a
  • generally unpleasant venture environment”.
  •  
  • These trends are consistent with Cleantech’s second venture forum held in San
  • Francisco at the beginning of May. With nearly 300 participants – double that of
  • the inaugural forum six months before, the event was sold out. Attendees
  • included some of the best-known venture groups in North America and Europe,
  • including: 3i, Advent International, Battery Ventures, CDP Capital Partners,
  • Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Intel Capital. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and
  • Ventures West. As Sara Thurwachter of Fremont Ventures noted: “The clean
  • technologies space is an area of increasing opportunity as demonstrated by both
  • the quantity and quality of the companies that participated in the forum”.
  •  
  • Publicly launched in July 2002, the Cleantech Venture Network is a market
  • facilitation service providing venture forums, investment reports, and online
  • services to investors and companies.
  •  
  • For additional information, please go to www.cleantechventure.com or contact:
  • Keith Raab, CEO, keith@cleantechventure.com, 734-528-2979 or Nicholas
  • Parker, Chairman, nicholas@cleantechventure.com, 416-456-9314