The Seattle-based Alliance of Angels invested record amounts in Northwest companies last year, pouring $9.1 million into 29 early stage ventures, the organization announced today.

It was the biggest year so far for the 12-year-old group that connects individual investors with entrepreneurs. Its previous record was $7 million to 20 companies in 2005.

"We experienced our strongest year ever in terms of dollars flowing to entrepreneurs, even in the midst of a severe downturn," Alliance chairman, Dan Rosen, said in the release.

Nine companies received their first funding from the group last year and the other 20 received follow-on funding.

Software companies received the largest share of the investments - 33 percent of the funding went to 13 software companies. Clean tech was the next leading category with 28 percent of the funding going to two companies. Also funded were six consumer-products and retail companies, three Internet companies, two in the mobile industry and two medical device makers.