Billions of dollars from private equity firms and other hedge funds flowed straight into Florida last year. Orlando, on the other hand, only got a tiny fraction of it, according to new industry results from the Pitchbook Data Inc. and Private Equity Growth Capital Council.

Of the private-equity funding that managed to go to Orlando, only a relatively small amount went to the state's high-tech industry. Experts said that among the different industries, it was the healthcare, theme-park, and real-estate sectors that received most of the funding.

Florida ranked fourth across the country in private equity funding with a total worth of around US$17 billion in 2012 while Orlando just got US$310 million according to data.

"Our area's high-tech companies are often early-stage and haven't proven themselves with established revenues, so they don't interest private equity. Even if local tech companies are established, they don't attract the types of large transactions that big private-equity firms are looking for," remarked an Orlando finance expert.