The city that made the most money may surprise you
2014 more More than 40% of US seed and early stage venture dollars went to startups in the Bay Area.
But that was a long time ago.
In recent years, Bay Area startups have made up a smaller percentage of U.S. VC investment, according to “Beyond Silicon Valley” a new report co-produced by venture firm Revolution and PitchBook. In 2021, only about 27% of US VC dollars went to Bay Area startups. It has been more than 10 years since that percentage fell below 30%, the study says, although the country is well on its way to totaling record levels of venture capital funding this year. We delved into the report and discussed the results with Revolution CEO and Chairman Steve Case.
Credit: Revolution / PitchBook
Case is the founder of the Revolution fund trio (including the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund), which focuses solely on investing outside of Silicon Valley. Since launching the platform in 2014, Case and his teams have invested in 194 companies in 89 cities.
Not only will 2021 be a record year for raised dollars, it will also be a record year for VCs based in the Bay Area and NYC investing in startups outside their region. As recently as 2017, more than 50% of the Bay Area dollars went to startups in the Bay Area in the early stages. Today, according to the Revolution / PitchBook report, that percentage is 37%.
In each of the past two years, at least $ 11 billion in Bay Area capital has been invested outside the three major ecosystems. Ten years ago that number was less than $ 3 billion.
“WIf we look at the industries of the future and the companies of the future, they will be scattered across the country and around the world and if you only invest in your own garden you will miss out on all opportunities in some of the iconic ones Investing in companies of the future, ”Case told TechCrunch.
