The MoneyTree is being ditched in favor of PitchBook. So the National Venture Capital Industry says in an announcement Wednesday, putting an end to a reliance on PricewaterhouseCoopers and Thomson Reuters for startup investment data that goes back nearly two decades.

Plus: The NVCA promises more data to crunch.

An NVCA spokesperson tells The Skinny that forthcoming reports will include fund-raising, exits and investments with data to be broken down locally, regionally and nationally.

So what happened?

“Effective immediately, NVCA no longer produces quarterly data releases of any kind with Thomson Reuters data, including production of the MoneyTree Report with PwC,” the trade group says in a FAQ about the decision. “NVCA will continue to make historical publications, such as the 2016 NVCA Yearbook, available on our website as a resource for the industry.”

PwC quickly announced that it would continue to publish quarterly reports.

As the NVCA notes, it has utilized Thomson Reuters data since 1998. And PwC for years put on venture breakfasts in the Triangle where local PwC execs and investors gathered to review the latest trends. PwC stopped the breakfasts several years ago, but the reports remained a primary source of information to startups, entrepreneurs and investors as well as the media.

In a few weeks, that will change as NVCA begins utilizing data from PitchBook, which is one of several firms that gather and sell venture-related information. (A subscription can cost $100,000 a year, although NVCA members can now get a 10 percent discount.)

So why make the change after so many years?

The NVCA spokesperson referred The Skinny to the FAQ for answers.

“Since NVCA first partnered with Thomson Reuters in 1998, many new private capital data sources have emerged, providing us with more choices than had previously been available. Ultimately, we felt it was the appropriate time to make the switch to a new data provider to unlock new opportunities for the organization and our members,” the NVCA says.

From Dow Jones VentureSource to CB Insights to Thomson Reuters and more, each firm reports data somewhat differently, citing their own criteria. What some firms consider VC, others don’t. So no sets of figures were ever identical.

​”As expected, different data providers are bound to have slightly varying methodologies for tracking and reporting on venture capital activity,” the NVCA says. “Part of the decision to partner with PitchBook stemmed from their inclusion of activity in the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem that aligns with the evolution of the industry in recent years. In the spirit of promoting transparency, PitchBook and NVCA will share the methodology used in the report when released.”

In the announcement, the NVCA says PitchBook was selected after an “exhaustive review process.” The Washington, D.C.-based group believes “PitchBook established itself as the clear leader. From the platform to the brand to the data itself, PitchBook is setting a high bar for itself and the market of private capital data sources.”

Read more at:

PitchBook-NVCA Partnership

Watch a video about the decision at: