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SAN FRANCISCO, April 16 (Reuters) – The venture capital industry invested $4.7 billion into companies during the first quarter, which was up from the same-period last year, but still below the last quarter of 2009.

The investments marked a 38 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009 when venture capitalists funneled $3.4 billion into companies, according to the MoneyTree Report by the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers released on Friday. The report was based on data from Thomson Reuters.

The money, which went into 681 deals or companies, was 9 percent lower than the fourth quarter of last year.

‘Despite a great deal of economic uncertainty in the first quarter, the venture capital industry moved forward with a more active start than it did in 2009, which bodes well for the remainder of the year,’ Mark Heesen, president of the National Venture Capital Association, said.

‘With health care reform passed and an improving exit market, we are expecting venture investment to increase moderately throughout the rest of 2010,’ he added.

Green technology and life sciences sectors are expected to be the focus of this year’s investments, the group said.

During the first quarter, the biotechnology industry received the highest level of funding for all industries with $825 million going into 99 deals, followed by the software industry with $681 million in 144 deals, according to the report.

The green technology sector attracted $773 million in 44 deals, driven by several large rounds.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta, editing by Leslie Gevirtz) Keywords: VENTURECAPITAL/Q1

(poornima.gupta@reuters.com; 415-677-3934; Reuters Messaging: poornima.gupta.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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