Definitive leaderboard of best US locations for startups by industry. And by "definitive", I mean: rankings based on total amount raised by startups using Carta in Seed, Series A, or Series B rounds in H1 2023. So, you know, completely correct 😁 I wondered: if we split the data by vertical, do we get more intriguing answers than “Bay Area wins”? Turns out, not really. Bay Area took the top spot for capital invested (across Seed, Series A, and Series B rounds) in 7 of the 10 listed verticals. It may be that Carta’s client base is weighted more heavily towards Silicon Valley than startups as a whole - but overall I think the data is fairly indicative of the continued primacy of SV. And hey, sometimes it's just fun to make a list! Interesting tidbits: • Boston has a very healthy lead in biotech, more than doubling the Bay in second place. Add in a strong showing in medical devices and it’s clear where lifescience startups find their home. • Interesting to see Austin break into the top 3 in both energy and fintech. • Healthtech seems to be the most evenly dispersed of the major verticals with 9 cities accruing over $50M invested. • Shoutout LA for landing tops in gaming and 3rd in consumer more generally. • The two cities that lag in terms of importance to VC vs their overall population are Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago. If you ran the same analysis based on number of rounds instead of total capital, a few of the surprising results drop out (no Salinas in energy, no Pittsburgh in edtech, etc). But generally speaking capital invested is a decent proxy for activity in a given metro area. Feel free to spark fights in the comments, support your city! #cartadata #startups #seed #SeriesA #SeriesB #fundraising
Nadeem Al Rabey
6mo
Absolutely fascinated by your analysis! The way you've dissected the data based on industries gives such a clear perspective. 😄 It's intriguing to see how even when we break it down, the Bay Area stands tall. Kudos to Boston for its lead in biotech and Austin's surprising entry into energy and fintech. The wide reach of healthtech is a revelation, and LA's performance in gaming and consumer is commendable. The connection between capital invested and metro activity is a compelling observation. Your insights truly capture the essence of startup dynamics. 🚀 Let's keep the dialogue going. Thank you for sharing this insightful analysis! 🙌
Why only include US? What happens when you add Tel Aviv, Bangalore, Waterloo etc?
Michael Marchand
6mo
This is very helpful chart. I would be curious to see the rate of change. for instance, Austin is getting its health community together with the help of Univ of Texas and the Dell family. Are we seeing investment accelerate? If so by how much? Has it moved up or down on your rankings? This could be very helpful also to consider where you start your next venture. For instance, I know several companies moved out of the Bay to Phoenix to help grow that market and be a big dog there. How is that trending going? Overall, really cool. keep it coming
Scott Bailey
6mo
Any breakdown on Proptech/Constructech?
Brian Gibson
6mo
Two thoughts: 1. This feels oddly like a fantasy football draft board. 2. What's Chi-town gotta do to get a color on the board?!
Dmitry F.
6mo
Hello Peter I love your content regarding different data of investors market in US. Where I can get similar data for UK market? Thank you for your response in advance. Kind Regards, Dmitry
Matthew Block
6mo
This is great. Worth noting that there is no denominator, though: you cannot divide by the total amount that would have been sought, or the anount that would have been raised if the startup were to be located elsewhere. For some companies, it could be the case that locating away from competitive pressure allows for earlier scaling that leads to much higher (or better) raises.
Larry Becker
6mo
Is this where the money originated or where it is deployed? Jeff Becker
The Bay Area isn't just a tech hub. It's where the startup game was invented and began 😎
Co-founder & Chair of Pacaso, Queue, heyLibby, 75 & Sunny Ventures
6moGreat info