Silicon Valley is the home of startups - but is that still true for the youngest companies?
Yes….with some interesting caveats.
We looked across all fundraising happening on SAFEs or convertible notes before any priced venture rounds. So this data includes both smaller "pre-seed" raises as well as more substantial "seed on SAFE"-type stuff.
Under that definition, 34.6% of all pre-priced round funding flowed to Bay Area companies in 2023.
However - this dominance looks less impressive if you go by total SAFEs/Notes signed as opposed to total capital.
The large checks that are flowing into seed-ish rounds are far more likely in the Bay than anywhere else - but small angel rounds of under $1M have become much more dispersed.
It's logical to assume that as venture capital and startups more broadly take root in other parts of the country, they will do so at the earliest stage first. The Bay is set to maintain a dominant lead in total venture capital but the phrase "you can start up anywhere" has never been more true.
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Peter Walker
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