North Texas touts second largest VC deal in Q3

North Texas was home to the second largest venture capital deal in the state during the third quarter.

Teladoc Inc., a Dallas-based company that provides telehealth services, raised $50.25 million in venture capital from a group of investors including Cardinal Partners, FLAG Capital Management and Greenspring Associates, according to PricewaterhouseCooper's latest MoneyTree report. The raise was only second to Houston-based Bellicum Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s $55 million raise.

"That's a pretty sizable amount for North Texas company to receive," said Caroline Gagliardi, Dallas-Fort Worth senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, adding that this was the only deal in health care in Texas during the third quarter. "It continues to show how diverse our market is."

North Texas companies also shortened the gap between VC dollars raised in Dallas-Fort Worth and those raised in Austin, which tends to be generalized as a better place to raise capital.

During the third quarter, venture capitalist investments totaled $95.43 million, compared to Austin's investments of $97.01 million. The previous quarter North Texas trailed Austin by about $24 million and by almost $110 million in the first quarter.

The third quarter did show a drop in venture capital investment in North Texas, but that was to be expected, Gagliardi said. In the second quarter, an $83.8 million deal skewed the results, she said.

The results follow a statewide and national trend, which also show a drop in venture capital investment from the second to third quarters. But in all, venture capital investment totals are on the rise, as nationally, totals have already surpassed last years amounts.

Danielle covers technology, retail, restaurants and hospitality for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe to our email newsletters.