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New Jersey start-up funding continues to drop

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New Jersey start-up funding continues to drop

APRIL 19, 2014    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY ANDREW WYRICH
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

* Nationwide flow of venture capital isn’t washing ashore here

A new report on Friday said funding for start-ups in New Jersey dropped sharply in the first quarter, falling 78 percent from the period a year ago and continuing a trend that began in the second quarter last year.

In contrast, funding for start-ups nationally reached levels not seen since 2001.

According to a MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, investors funneled $19.6 million in funding to five New Jersey companies in the first three months of this year, down from more than $80.2 million that went to eight companies in the 2013 quarter.

Two North Jersey companies were among the five that received funding. The Clifton-based software maker Caktus Inc., which designs software that tracks a person’s water intake, received seed funding. LiveU Ltd. of Hackensack, which develops technology for live broadcasting, received later-stage funding. The amount invested into both companies was not disclosed in the report.

“The $19.6 million invested is the lowest quarter in MoneyTree Report history, and the funding in New Jersey continues to trend downward in recent quarters,” Brett Harrington, a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers Emerging Companies Services, said in a statement. “Hopefully, the overall increase that has been seen nationally will positively impact New Jersey in Q2.”

Yearlong slide

The money venture capitalists invested in New Jersey-based start-ups and the number of companies that got funding have declined steadily since the second quarter of 2013. In the third quarter last year, the roughly $20 million invested in 11 companies was the lowest amount invested in New Jersey in 15 years, according to the report.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/tight-state-for-start-ups-1.999421#sthash.pQvL7Ybe.dpuf