Shifts Noted in Industries for VC Funding

Ewald: “We all feel very confident about the San Diego economy, the market and the diversity of the companies that we’re seeing get funded.”

SAN DIEGO—While biotech and life-sciences firms typically attract venture capital to San Diego, robotics, artificial intelligence and healthcare-related companies received the most dollars in 2017, CBRE first VP Andrew Ewald tells GlobeSt.com.

According to a recent report from the firm, venture capital activity bounced back in 2017 after a slower 2016, thanks to strong back-to-back quarters in investment. The 2017 total was over $1.6 billion, which is the highest deal volume on record for San Diego, according to data from CBRE Research, PwC/CB Insights MoneyTree Report, Pitchbook and Mattermark. M&A activity was also very high in the region during 2017, including 23 M&A deals in Q4 alone. This figure includes announced or completed deals involving San Diego companies either as the acquirer or the acquired. Additionally, two companies made major stock offerings or IPOs. In Q4 2017, San Diego firms received $452 million of VC investment, down 4.3% from Q3 2017, but up 161.3% year-over-year. There were 28 deals executed this quarter, on par with the three-year average.