Posted by Tim Burrell - The amount of Venture Capital raised in the Triangle soared in the fourth quarter of 2007 to almost $325 Million according to the National Venture Capital Association.   For the year, companies in North Carolina received $720.3 million in investment funds.   To give you an idea of how strong the Triangle is, Triangle companies were over $500 million of that figure, raising the most they had since the year 2000.

Is that high?  The previous record was $259 Million in 1999, at the height of the dot-com boom.  This is more than 25% over the old record.  This infusion of cash will help many companies grow, creating new products, improved products and more high paying jobs.  Venture Capital is usually used by young companies to develop and market new products, as well as hire new employees.  The Venture Capitalists usually get an ownership share in the company in return for their investment.

This confidence in the brilliance of Triangle companies will increase the demand for quality homes as the companies produce more jobs and make the investors wealthy.  Since these companies need people that cannot be outsourced to India and the Philippines, they will have a long term effect on the prosperity of Raleigh and the rest of the Triangle.  In short, the jobs they create are stable in addition to being well paying.

Motricity lead the field by raising $185 million on venture capital, which was the biggest single amount ever raised by a privately owned Triangle company.   Motricity's software helps entertainment companies sell content for mobile devices.

The Triangle is now competing with Silicon Valley around San Jose and the Boston Area in terms of the amount of Venture Capital that is poured into the area.  The Raleigh Chamber of Commerce indicates that the Triangle is also the competition for Boston and Silicon Valley for technology, bio-tech, medical device and advanced fabric companies when they decide where to locate or relocate.  It used to be that Raleigh competed with Atlanta and other southern hubs for new firms.  Times have changed, so that Raleigh is in the big leagues, particularly for companies that need an abundance of highly educated members.

The Chamber has been particularly effective in recruiting such firms, as we have many top quality universities, producing large quantities of "smart people" necessary for these firms.  These firms are have a tremendous long term effect on the Triangle, as they cannot outsource what they need to develop and improve the products they create.  In other words, the jobs that they create here will stay here for as long as the companies stay here.  With good infrastructure, reasonable housing prices (cheap by Silicon Valley standards), good weather and a government that supports enterprise, the Triangle attracts not only record amounts of Venture Capital, but a steady increase in businesses that need "smart people."

For more information, you can visit the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce's website at http://www.RaleighChamber.org

Let me know what you think about this trend, as our Blog enjoys comments.