Although still a small component of the $34 billion venture capital market, investment in cleantech companies nearly doubled last year, reports Dow Jones VentureOne. $1.2 billion was invested in venture-backed cleantech companies in 140 financing rounds in 2006, compared with $664.1 million in 103 financings in the prior year. Funding rounds are rising. In the U.S., the median size of a cleantech financing round in 2006 was $7.5 million, eclipsing the overall median round for venture-backed U.S. companies. The biggest venture investors in the sector include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DFJ Element, Khosla Ventures, Nth Power and Rockport Capital Partners.—
Mary Kathleen Flynn
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