Insights

$4.2 billion raised by companies scaling in North Carolina.

Research Triangle Park, NC. March 1, 2023 — The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) released its annual Venture Report of equity funding for calendar year 2022. Each year since 2000, CED has tracked the investments in North Carolina-headquartered, high-growth companies. In 2022, a total of 246 companies (25 more than ‘21) raised a healthy $4.2 billion across 269 separate funding events. “It helps the numbers when Epic Games can seemingly casually raise $2 billion in any given year,” says Hunter Young, CED’s Head of Capital. “However, I think the nice surprise from 2022 was the sheer amount of early-stage deals that were closed, with 174 transactions under $5 million getting done. This bigger pool of companies at the seed stage will create a wider funnel for potential large locally headquartered global companies down the line.”

A total of 325 investors participated in the deals. CED is seeing more and more out-of-region funds build a presence in North Carolina, “boots on the ground” to be closer to deal flow and connect in the community. West coast investors participated in 93 deals (29% of the total investor participation) which makes that region the single biggest source of funding for NC companies, surpassing the recent past where the Southeast investor base has dominated. “While out-of-region funds make up a significant portion of the dollars raised by North Carolina companies, an equally interesting occurrence is the growth of the local investor base. Even before the pandemic began, there had been a steady trend of early-stage investment groups expanding to our area by relocating a team member, or in some cases, the entire fund,” said Young. “In tandem, net new investors have also organically emerged locally, bringing additional capital to fuel the early stage ecosystem.”

“One of the strengths of our ecosystem in North Carolina is it has multiple industry sectors all growing at the same time,” said Jay Bigelow, CED Head of Entrepreneurship. “Tech and Life sciences are both large sectors with NC Tech companies raising over $3 billion and Life sciences companies almost $1 billion in 2022,” he added. “But the Cleantech sector has seen a significant increase in funding, and our Agtech, as well as Advanced Materials verticals, are poised to have significant increases based on the recent volume of activity in the state in both of those areas.” At the end of the month, CED is set to host its annual summit for companies raising capital. With two primary stages, 180 companies will have the opportunity to pitch, a record number for this event now in its 39th year. Venture Connect is the largest showcase for innovation across multiple industries in the USA.

About CED (Council for Entrepreneurial Development):

The Council for Entrepreneurial Development was formed in 1984 by a group of business leaders wanting to empower the successful creation and growth of entrepreneurial companies in the North Carolina region. CED acts as the connective center for all of this to happen. Through high-touch support, education, access to capital, and crucial connections, CED brings entrepreneurs together with the optimal resources needed to turn a new company into a success story.

For more insights, download a copy of the full report.

Inquires Contact: Hunter Young, Head of Capital | CED, hyoung@cednc.org