WASHINGTON (Map, News) - Venture capitalists closed more deals and invested more money in the Washington area during the first quarter of 2008 than they did a year earlier, despite the sluggish economy.

The region saw 48 deals close during the quarter, compared with 44 during the first quarter of 2007. A total of $264.6 million was invested in the region’s companies, up from $232.3 million a year ago.

Software remained the leading sector for venture capital investment, with 19 of the 48 funded companies falling into that industry.

The largest deal in the region was for GlobalLogic, an information technology services company in Vienna. New Atlantic Ventures invested $29.5 million in the firm.

The region performed better than the nation at large, which saw activity fall from $7.8 billion during the first quarter of 2007 to $7.1 billion in the same quarter of 2008. Throughout the country, 922 deals were landed.

“The economic slowdown has had an impact ... but at the same time, the effect is milder than you might imagine from listening to the evening news,” said Nina Saberi, managing general partner for Castile Ventures during a conference call Friday.

Initial public offerings and sales of companies that venture capitalists have invested in have slowed the most due to the economy, venture capitalists said.

But venture capital firms have remained busy with investments they began in 2005 and 2006, said James Thomas of Thomas, McNerney & Partners.

melissa.frederick@dcexaminer.com