Venture capitalists and the state of Maryland invested nearly $84 million in biotechnology, software and energy startups in the first three months of this year, according to a report released Friday.

The early and late-stage investments were spread among 12 firms, according to the report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association, which uses data from Thomson Reuters.

A host of investors gave a combined $25 million to Vtesse Inc., a Gaithersburg-based biotechnology firm that is developing drugs for Niemann-Pick disease type C, a genetic disorder.

Nationwide, venture investments declined 10 percent from the previous quarter to $13.4 billion, according to the report, which said investments are typically less in the beginning of a year.

But in Maryland, the $83.7 million invested between January and March was up from about $70 million in the same period last year. Overall investment in Maryland firms fell to about $360 million last year from about $649 million in 2013.

Read more at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-venture-capital-report-20150417-story.html