Miami Is a Rising Early Stage Hub but Lags in Late Stage

Is Miami a new major location for US startups or does it still lag behind in real influence?

Yes.

I think this is a great example of why talking about VC as a whole can be frustrating, especially for places outside of Silicon Valley. Miami is 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 a more happening place when it comes to early-stage startups - but it still lags far behind in total capital.

Here's where Miami ranks in total fundraising by stage (data over the last ~2 years on Carta). All data based on startup HQ, not where the investor is located:

• Pre-priced rounds: 6th (highest ever spot for Miami)

• Priced seed: 8th

• Series A: 9th

• Series B: 20th

• Series C: 21st

• Series D: 42nd

This is exactly what you'd expect to see with a nascent, growing ecosystem. Raising a pre-priced round on SAFEs is where most companies begin their journeys these days, and it's also a great spot in the VC funding lifecycle where new investors can get involved.

But Miami lacks late-stage capital because...of course it does. The companies that would eventually raise those major rounds are still too young to do so.

As a broader point, this is why all the cities competing to be "the next Silicon Valley" should be careful about how they judge their own progress. If you only look at fundraising to all VC-backed companies, it's difficult to see any real change over time. You have to zoom into to specific stages in order to watch ecosystems grow.

I'd say this is pretty good progress for Miami!

Give me a shout in the comments if you want to see how your city stacks up.

#startups #Miami #founders #venturecapital #fundraising

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