Florida snags more venture capital, angel dollars in 2016

The state saw 71 deals worth $1.1 billion in venture capital and angel financing in 2016 compared with 75 deals worth $866 million a year earlier, according to the Money Tree report released Wednesday.

Florida attracted more venture capital and angel financing in 2016, but had roughly the same number of deals.

The state saw 71 deals worth $1.1 billion in venture capital and angel financing in 2016 compared with 75 deals worth $866 million a year earlier, according to the MoneyTree report released Wednesday by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with CB Insights.

“From a value perspective, it was a pretty good year,” said Darach Chapman, leader of the Florida deals practice for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Miami.

Central Florida’s top deal was for $23 million by agricultural company Anuvia Plant Nutrients in Zellwood.

Chapman said financing of Florida companies increased nearly 30 percent over 2015, including the “mega deal” of $794 million raised in the first quarter by Magic Leap, a Broward County augmented-reality technology company backed by Google and Alibaba. Industry observers say mixed reality will be- come commonplace. Orlando’s heavy concentration of simulation and training expertise, rooted in military presence here for decades, positions the region well to capitalize on the trends. University of Central Florida and local businesses are researching new uses for mixed reality technology. UCF’s photonics program has turned out experts in fields related to virtual and mixed reality technology, some of whom have gone to work for Magic Leap. The applications will affect many industries, including medical training, construction and fashion.

Excluding Magic Leap, Florida still saw an increase of about 17 percent, Chapman said.

“On an annual basis, the number of deals was slightly down from 2015. But over time, the number of deals in Florida were higher than any year since 2001,” he said.

Florida ranked 13th in venture and angel dollars invested in 2016. The state saw 1.9 percent of the total national dollar flow compared with 1.6 percent a year ago, Chapman said.

In the fourth quarter, there were 10 deals worth $98.7 million in Florida.

Besides Magic Leap and Anuvia, other top deals in Florida during 2016 included:

$31.5 million raised by CareCloud, a cloud-based health business management platform in Miami

$30 million raised by IT security company ReliaQuest in Tampa

$21 million by restaurant group Sliderz in Miami

The report doesn’t appear to include Fort Lauderdale-based JetSmarter, the private aviation mobile service that raised $105 million in December. JetSmarter said the latest round included existing investors rapper Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and the Saudi Royal Family, as well as an Abu Dhabi-based growth equity fund, private jet operator JetEdge, London-based venture capital firm KZ Capital and a Qatar-based private equity fund.

Nationally, venture capital investment ended the year on a weak note, as quarterly deals and dollars fell for the second consecutive quarter, according to the MoneyTree Report.

Deals and dollars dropped 16 percent and 20 percent, respectively in 2016, compared to 2015.

Venture capital-backed Internet companies remained the top sector for investor dollars.

MoneyTree Report results are available at www.pwcmoneytree.com.