Clean Tech Firms Attracting Investors

 

Third-quarter venture-capital investments in alternative energy, conservation, and recycling firms hit a record-high $844 million over 62 deals, a dollar-value increase of 80 percent over the previous quarter, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported Monday.

Overall, venture capitalists invested $7.1 billion in 887 deals in the third quarter, a slight drop from $7.2 billion invested in 1,000 deals in the second quarter.

"While software and biotechnology upheld their historical placements as the top funded industries, venture capitalists seemed to diversify across various industries this quarter," Tracy Lefteroff, the firm's global managing partner, said in a statement.

The average first-time deal was $6.3 million, up from $5 million last quarter, with seed and early stage businesses receiving the bulk of first-time investments, the report said.

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