Ohio is bucking the national trend according to economic experts
Venture capital investment in Ohio has hit its highest level in a decade.
Venture capital is a high-risk investment in young companies that have a promising potential. The first quarter of this year alone attracted nearly $123 million in venture capital investments according to Tracy Lefteroff with PricewatershouseCoopers.
"Ohio has some world-class institutions in the medical space that clearly are doing pioneering work in many different areas and that's exactly what venture capitalists look for," he said.
It's a positive economic sign because most of these investments are in small businesses, a major source of jobs.
Venture capital investors haven't always been interested in Ohio. Investments dove in 2009, but has rebounded over the last two years. $205 million was invested in 2011, up from $178 million in 2010, according to PricewaterhouseCooper.
"Ohio is bucking the national trend," Lefteroff said. Venture capital investment in the United States in first quarter fell by double-digit percentages in both the number of deals and the amount spent.
Public companies headquartered in Ohio that were once venture-backed accounted for 164,265 jobs and $28 billion in revenue two years ago, according to a Global Insight study cited by the National Association of Venture Capital Association.
