VC funding in Maine plummeted last year, defying national trend
Venture capital-backed companies across the U.S. last year raised nearly $130 billion, up 14% from the 2019 total and setting a record high despite the economic downturn.
But VC investment in Maine companies nose-dived during 2020, according to a new report by consulting firms PwC and CB Insights.
Venture funding in the state totaled $18 million for the year, down from $110 million during 2019. Maine’s 2020 total ranked No. 45, or the sixth-lowest, among those for all 50 states, and was the lowest in the Northeast.
Maine’s ranking among the states for VC investment during 2019 was No. 33, according to the PwC and CB Insights annual "MoneyTree" report.
While the decline in 2020 was one of the sharpest nationwide, venture financing is typically volatile. For example, in Oregon the volume of funding fell by more than half, from $698 million in 2019 to $347 million.
There was also a bright spot for the Pine Tree State. While the number of VC deals nationwide decreased 9% in 2020 to 6,022, the number in Maine crept up from 11 to 14.
California, New York and Massachusetts ranked as No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 respectively in both 2020 and 2019 for the highest amounts of VC funding and numbers of investments.
The state with the least venture financing in 2020 was Mississippi, where no deals were recorded. In 2019, that distinction went to West Virginia.
The PwC and CB Insights findings were based on equity financing of private companies that had received funding from venture capital firms, corporate venture arms or super angel investors. More information about the report is available here.
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