The second of three major venture capital reports compiling data and trends for 2014 is out – and there’s good as well as somber news for North Carolina.

The state’s venture capital business received mixed news in the latest Dow Jones VentureSource survey. The number of deals and the amount invested fell from 2013 levels. And that year was hardly one to crow about when compared to earlier performances dating back to before the 2009 recession.

However, a surge in the dollars-per-deal reflects a national trend. As several panelists noted Wednesday morning in North Raleigh at the Entrepreneur’s Series 2015 VC forecast put on by Bull City Venture Partners, values for startups are soaring as money floods into investment firms and many startups are growing at remarkable levels. (More on that in a later story.)

The CB Insights report, which WTW reported on Wednesday, provided data that could lift the spirits of investors and especially entrepreneurs hoping to land money.

But each of the three reports draws information from different sources, and the Dow Jones VentureSource data does differ.

Still to come on Friday is the National Venture Capital Association recap, done in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Thomson Reuters. With all three reports in hand, the aggregate information will provide a more complete picture although entrepreneurs and investors are becoming more secretive thanks to changes in SEC guidelines requiring less information.

Perhaps the best news for North Carolina startups in the Dow Jones report is an increase in the median deal size.

Deal values hit $5.27 million in 2014, the highest level in four years. So entrepreneurs are driving better term sheets when they do get money. Nationally, the media deal size nearly doubled in 2014 from 2013, soaring 30 percent alone in the fourth quarter from the previous three months.

Here’s the N.C. median deal size dating back to 2010:

  • 2011: $3.29M
  • 2012: $3M
  • 2013: $5M
  • 2014: $5.27M

Deal flow down, dollars down

Deal flow and dollars invested, however, faltered in 2014 despite a stronger finish to the year.

Overall, Dow Jones VentureSource reports 41 deals for the year, generating $316 billion. (CB Insights reported 46 deals worth $355 million.)

Both totals fell short of 2013: 44 deals, more than $423 million.

Nationally, Dow Jones VentureSource said deals fell in number to 814 from 1,013 a year earlier. However, investments soared to $52 billion from $35 billion. CB Insights reported $47 billion, the best VC total deal since 2001.

The fourth quarter prevented an even worse year with nine deals generating nearly half the year’s dollars at $153 million.

Among the deals:

Viamet Pharmaceuticals at $60 million

Phononic Devices at $45 million

Scioderm at $20 million

Advanced Animal Diagnostics at $15 million..