Investors poured record levels of money into mobile in the first half of 2012, pointing to the significant long-term potential they see in mobile-first ventures such as consumer applications, according to a new report from Rutberg & Co.

Private companies in mobile raised $3.9 billion in venture capital through 479 deals during the first half of the year, the largest amount for a half-year period since Rutberg & Co. began tracking this space in 2001. These numbers are up 30 percent for the dollar amount and 34 percent for the number of deals from the same period a year ago.

?Venture capital in mobile for first half of 2012 is nearly $1 billion greater than same period in 2011, and 2011 had represented the largest year of venture capital in mobile in a decade,? said Rajeev Chand, managing director and head of research at Rutberg & Co., San Francisco.

?We are seeing a dominant theme and fundamental shift to mobile-first in venture capital, entrepreneurship, and innovation,? he said.

?Consumer apps now topped $1 billion in venture capital for the first half of the year - that is a significant increase from previous half-year of $642 million. We are seeing substantial disruption and growth in mobile consumer apps.?

Apps attract investors
When photo-sharing app Instagram was acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in April, this pointed to the significant upside potential for investors in consumer applications.

As a result, consumer applications was one of the sectors attracting the most venture capital during the first half of 2012. During the first half of this year, private companies in the mobile applications sector raised $1 billion compared to $642 million in the second half of 2011 and $731 million and in the first half of 2011.

Some of the largest investments in North American companies include $135 million raised by wireless home music system Sonos, $70 million raised by notes application Evernote, $66 million raised by mobile advertising firm LifeStreet Media and $52 million raised by Wi-Fi security app AnchorFree.

Mobile-first gains
Investments in mobile commerce and payments platforms for retail businesses as well as device management and security helped drive a significant investment increase for the enterprise infrastructure sector. Companies in this sector raised $653 million in the first half, up from $432 million in the second half of 2011 and $301 million in the first half of last year.

Mobile advertising and application infrastructure investments helped drive growth in the media infrastructure sector. During the first half, companies in this sector raised $426 million compared with $300 million in the first half of 2011.

The numbers show that mobile-first is a dominant theme within overall venture capital, with mobile representing 46 percent of tech venture capital during the first half. This compares with 39 percent last year and 17 percent in 2009.

The strong investment levels in mobile are expected to continue through the rest of the year.

?We anticipate continued growth in venture capital in mobile, driven by the fundamental shift of business and technology to mobile-first, the disruptive new opportunities in nearly every industry, the significant venture successes such as Instagram, and the ample availability of venture capital for entrepreneurs,? Mr. Chand said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York