Tech investments in N.Y. top Mass. - Boston.com

New data shows what we have been seeing at a grassroots level: NYC is surpassing Boston at the second largest tech scene in the US, especially when you discount the biotech area:

The data being released today by New York investment research firm CB Insights show that New York has had 261 technology deals over the last six quarters, versus 250 for Massachusetts. New York tech companies received investments worth a combined $1.6 billion. Massachusetts companies got $1.4 billion in the same period. Both are behind California’s Silicon Valley, which has a firm grip on the number one position by a wide margin.

New York’s growth is fueled by the kind of technology start-ups that venture capitalists currently find attractive: digital media and advertising companies, which build on Manhattan’s base of older-technology firms in the same fields.

“There’s no disputing that New York is on fire now. It’s a very hot market,’’ said Michael A. Gree ley, general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners in Boston and past chairman of the New England Venture Capital Association. “Massachusetts investors now have a new respect for Manhattan.’’

The first indication that New York was challenging Massachusetts came at the beginning of this year, as the venture capital industry was starting to process investment data from 2010. On the eve of releasing last year’s venture capital investment numbers, CB Insights posted a preview of a “trend that caught our eye.’’

In the area of Internet technology, “N.Y. is starting to credibly close the gap between itself and its northern brother, Massachusetts,’’ the firm stated.

Massachusetts still beats New York by a significant margin in total venture funds invested, CB Insights acknowledged. New York has very few life sciences start-ups, for example. That sector generally demands significant investments from venture capitalists. Life sciences start-ups in Massachusetts attract millions of dollars in investment every quarter.

But in hot investment sectors such as the Internet, mobile technology, and social media, New York really had caught up to Massachusetts.

“Sentiment is very bullish in New York right now,’’ said Anand Sanwal, cofounder of CB Insights, “so we thought it was worth noting.’’