VC investments drive up SARTA Tech Index - Sacramento Business Journal:

VC investments drive up SARTA Tech Index - Sacramento Business Journal:: "Sacramento Business Journal - December 8, 2006
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VC investments drive up SARTA Tech Index
Sacramento Business Journal - 12:32 AM PST Friday
by Melanie Turner
Staff writer

A barometer of the region's technology economy is on the rise again after its first decline in three years, reaching a new high in the third quarter.

The tech index calculated by the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance (SARTA) hit 176.7, a hair above the first-quarter 2006 figure and up 6.2 percent from 166.34 in the second quarter. The index, based on the performance of local tech companies, was 9.4 percent above the third-quarter 2005 figure of 161.52.

Oleg Kaganovich, SARTA's chief executive, said the index rose primarily because of private-equity investments. Venture capital investors pumped a total of about $24.3 million into the companies on the index, up from about $18 million the previous quarter.

'Next quarter, my sense is you're going to see another increase due to revenue growth and possibly employment growth,' he said.

KeyEye Communications landed $16 million during the quarter in a Serie"