California is by far the leading state in luring venture capital Magic Johnson, chairman of Magic Johnson Enterprises, meets biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong at L.A. venture capital forum. Kevok Djansezian/Getty Images / March 22, 2012 By Marc Lifsher April 5, 2012, 10:43 a.m. California last year attracted more venture capital than any other state, pulling in almost five times as much money as No. 2-ranked Massachusetts. A new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Assn. said that California received more than half of the country's $28 billion in 2011 venture capital investments. The report was cited Thursday in a blog posted by Dennis Meyers, the principal economist of the California Department of Finance. Nationally, venture capital investments increased 22% last year compared to 2010. California ventures got $14.5 billion, up 24% from the previous year. The bulk of the money went to Silicon Valley firms. The infusion of funds was led by software companies, $6.7 billion in 2011. Biotech companies received $4.7 billion in the same period. Here's the state-by-state breakdown: California $14.5 billion Massachusetts $ 3 billion New York $2.3 billion Texas $1.5 billion Illinois $0.7 billion Colorado $0.6 billion Virginia $0.6 billion Washington $0.5 billion New Jersey $0.5 billion Pennsylvania $0.5 billion Warren Hellman dies at 77: financier, banjo player Universities are helping entrepreneurs reach for the sky Caliifornia leads the nation in green-tech venture capital funding