Oregon entrepreneurs netted a cash windfall last year, raising $1.6 billion in venture capital for their young companies, according to new industry data. That’s the most in state history by a wide margin and nearly doubles Oregon startups’ haul from 2020.

Nearly half of Oregon’s venture funding in 2021 went to just two businesses: Dutchie, a Bend company with technology to help manage marijuana businesses; and NuScale Power, a Portland company that is developing a new class of nuclear reactor based on innovations pioneered at Oregon State University.

Oregon’s investment totals mirrored a broader boom in venture funding, according to PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association, which tallied the latest numbers.

They reported that venture capitalists invested $330 billion nationwide in 2021, also roughly double the prior year’s total.

“A fair portion of the new investment records can be attributed to the record levels of capital washing through the system,” said John Gabbert, CEO of PitchBook, a Seattle-based investment research firm.

Venture capital is outperforming other investment options, Gabbert said, so he forecast another record year nationally in 2022. That doesn’t necessarily mean another big year for Oregon, since so much of Oregon’s funding was concentrated with two companies that raised unusually large amounts.

Venture investment has seldom been a major part of Oregon’s economy in the way it is in Seattle or the Bay Area, which routinely sprout big new companies out of thin air. But there are signs that Oregon may again be growing large businesses.