In the latest numbers released from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, Southern California saw a surge of venture capital investments totaling $1.2 billion dollars, led by an influx of investments in the healthcare area. Southern California saw $373.4M in investments in the biotechnology area, boosting venture numbers in the region. The total came from 84 venture capital deals.

Nationwide, the report tallied $7.1 billion dollars in investments in the U.S. for the quarter, the highest quarterly level in five years. In the regional breakdown, the MoneyTree Report found that San Diego led the area for investments, with $686.3M invested, followed by the Los Angeles area, with investments of $357.4M for the quarter. Orange County saw $168.5M in deals. Among the top industries for Southern California were Biotechnology ($373.4M), followed by Medical Devices ($205.6M); then Telecommunications ($135.3M). The biggest deal in the quarter was a $107.5M investment in San Diego's CardioNet, a healthcare services firm providing real time monitoring of cardiac patients; followed by Amp'd Mobile, a Los Angeles-based MVNO. Other large deals for the quarter included $62M for Vantage Media in Venice, and $50M for Real D in Los Angeles.

According to the report, the most active venture capital firms in the region for Q1 were Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, with 8 deals, followed by the Tech Coast Angels, with 7 deals; and GRP Partners, with 6 deals invested in the quarter. The quarter was the most invested in Southern California since first quarter of 2001, and was a significant increase from both Q1 of last year ($702M in 69 deals) and Q4 ($810M in 103 deals).

Nationwide, almost all of the sectors where Southern California has a significant presence had increases quarter-to-quarter; Media and Entertainment showed a 16 percent increase in investments nationwide, Telecommunications had a 27 percent increase in dollars; and internet-specific companies saw a 31 percent increase in dollars from Q4.