Economy & Business

Keystone Crossroads: Rust or Revival?

Keystone Crossroads: Rust or Revival? explores the urgent challenges pressing upon Pennsylvania's cities. Four public media newsrooms are collaborating to report in depth on the root causes of our state's urban crisis -- and on possible solutions. Keystone Crossroads offers reports on radio, web, social media, television and newspapers, and through public events.Our partner stations are WHYY in Philadelphia, WPSU in State College and witf in Harrisburg. Read all of the partner stories here.Pittsburgh’s WQED joins the collaboration as an associate partner. Support for this project comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Pittsburgh Punches Above Its Weight In Attracting Venture Capital

90.5 WESA

Published March 26, 2015 at 12:40 PM EDT

Investments in Pittsburgh companies and the city’s technology sector continue to grow. A report by Innovation Works, an investment firm, and Ernst & Young LLP, a professional services company, found:

Venture capital firms invested $333 million in the Pittsburgh region in 2014, more than double that of 2013 (though 2013 was the lowest year from 2010-2014).
Local angel investors contributed $73 million in 2014, a 35 percent increase over 2013.
Pittsburgh’s technology sector saw $438 million in investments, a 46 percent increase over 2013.
Since 2012 the local supply of venture capital funds has been growing.

The size of the deals has followed national trends, growing in dollar amount. So the number of deals grew more slowly, by 26 percent in the same time. In 2014, almost half of available venture capital went to just three large deals.

Read a full version of this report at the website of Keystone Crossroads, a statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania's cities.