Twenty-one Fairfax County-based companies received $114.8 million in venture capital investments in the second quarter of 2005, according to figures compiled by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) and based on the PricewaterhouseCoopers/Venture Economics/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree™ Survey.

Twenty of the companies are involved in information technology fields, while one company rents portable mini-storage units. The investment total is the highest in Fairfax County since the first quarter of 2001.

The Fairfax County funding total represents 93.2 percent of the $123.1 million invested in 26 Virginia companies during the quarter, according to the MoneyTree ™ Survey. The county total represents 54.4 percent of the $211 million in investments made to 58 companies in the Washington region ( District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia) in April, May and June.

“Venture capital investment in young technology companies is beginning to come back. Fairfax County companies are leading the charge in the Washington area and the state of Virginia,” said Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the FCEDA.

Fairfax County companies have received almost $4 billion in private equity funding since the FCEDA began its Capital Attraction Program in 1997 to link entrepreneurs with possible funding sources. More than 30 venture capital firms and organizations have offices in Fairfax County, the highest concentration in the Washington area.