Fresh data on how US cities compare for early-stage startup funding.
I think we need to tweak the usual "tier" rankings we use to describe early-stage startup ecosystems.
For long time it was the Bay Area and everywhere else. Then we spoke about the Bay and NYC and everyone else.
Today I think the tiers break out this way (data for pre-seed, seed, and Series A. Includes SAFEs and priced rounds):
𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝟭 | 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿
The Bay Area still reigns. 30.46% of early-stage capital goes to Bay Area companies according to our Carta data.
𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝟮 | 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗩𝗖 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀
New York in second and Boston in third. I think of these increasingly as equally strong places to start companies (and not just Biotech ones for Boston!)
𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝟯 | 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗟𝗔
Above the next tier, clearly, but also not on the level with NYC or Boston. LA is just it's own thing! Companies here took in 6.45% of all early-stage capital since 2023.
𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝟰 | 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀
Some more traditional markets like Seattle, newer ones like Miami, and freshly exciting ones like DC. Which of these will spring forward to challenge the top tiers?
𝗧𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝟱 | 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟮𝟬
Great to see Pittsburgh, Atlanta, the Research Triangle, and other growing venture markets take root in the back half of the top 20.
These rankings are based purely on invested capital, so I'm sure arguments can be made against them. Hope your city is rising!
#cartadata #startups #founders #fundraising
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