Florida saw 58 venture capital and angel deals worth $460.7 million during 2015, which paled compared with the 44 deals worth $864.9 million in 2014, according to a MoneyTree Report released Friday.
But 2014 numbers included the extraordinary Google-led investment of $542 million in Magic Leap, now in Plantation.
In South Florida, the big investment deals this year included $50 million for Sunrise telehealth company MDLIVE, $38 million for electronic medical records software company Modernizing Medicine in Boca Raton, $22.9 million for Dania Beach-based Orthosensor, an orthopedic medical device maker; and $22 million for Bidtellect in Delray Beach, where where advertisers compete for online space in real-time bidding.
In the fourth quarter, deals included $5 million for BioTrack THC, a Fort Lauderdale company that provides software for the marijuana industry and another $3.89 million for Orthosensor.
In Miami, video software company Raw Shorts raised $1.27 million and InnFocus, which offers an alternative treatment for glaucoma patients, raised $1 million in the fourth quarter.
While venture capitalists are often reluctant to invest in startups, 26 of Florida’s deals were in early-stage companies and 32 were expansion or later-stage companies last year. In 2014, 15 were early-stage deals and 28 expansion or later stage.
Florida firms that invested included New World Angels in Boca Raton, Tamiami Angels in Naples and Florida Angel Nexus in Orlando.
The MoneyTree Report is produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, based on data by Thomson Reuters.
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