Angels and VCs partner up to pump $282M into startups

Angel investors and venture capital firms are teaming up to find the best deals, new data released today shows, with investors paying particular attention to startup companies active in the IT and business technology space

The statistics released by Dow Jones VentureSource showed that during the first three-quarters of 2010, angel and VC co-sponsored deals put $282 million into 68 separate deals.

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That’s a significant uptick year-over-year, when the same period in 2009 saw only 59 co-investment deals garnering a total of $236 million.

Technology or online networking startups are seeing the bulk of this investment, said Dow Jones, as the white-hot environment for web-based social media continues to draw both investors’ interest and their infusions of money.

“As venture capitalists scout younger companies, especially in the consumer and Internet spaces, we are seeing them tap into and co-invest with angel groups,” said Jessica Canning, global research director for Dow Jones VentureSource.

The Dow Jones data showed that over the last quarter, investors been particularly keen on business and financial services, and put more than $1 billion dollars into software companies alone.

Renewable energy also has caught the eye of many VCs, as “renewable energy deals continue to drive investment in the energy industry,” said Dow Jones.

The recent stats showed that median size deal has grown slightly, weighing in at around $5 million since the beginning of 2009, as VCs choose where to put what cash where they think they are most likely to turn startups into powerhouses.

Still, angel investors continue to account for a relatively small part of over all investment across the market: Dow Jones’ statistics—which they’ve been compiling since 2007–said total co-investment rounds accounted for only $282 million of the $5.5 billion venture investors put to work in the third quarter.

Those numbers could likely skyrocket in the coming few quarters, however, with has many investors panting on the sidelines for many currently privately-held companies like Facebook and Twitter to take their businesses public.

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[DJU4]The median deal size for angel/VC co-investment rounds through September 2010 is $1.93 million. This is slightly below the $1.99 million median in 2009.