Despite the global pandemic, VC funding to US-based companies has thrived, hitting new highs in 2020 and then again in 2021 YTD. Annual US venture funding has hit $210B as of Q3’21 — almost 1.5x 2020 funding totals.
Although startups based in California, New York, and Massachusetts have traditionally accounted for the majority of VC tech investment in the US, VCs are spurring other hotbeds of innovation across the country.
Using CB Insights data, we analyzed the most active venture capital firms investing in tech startups in every US state.
See the full list of VCs at the end of this post.
Our analysis looks at the most active VC in each US state plus Washington DC, based on unique equity investments to tech startups located in that state. In cases of a tie, we used recency of deals, overall deal activity, and investor quality to select the most active tech startup investor for that state.
Please click to enlarge.
Three of our Smart Money VCs — top VCs according to portfolio valuations and investment outcomes — made their marks on the map: Andreessen Horowitz (California), Lightspeed Venture Partners (Nevada), and New Enterprise Associates (DC).
Two investors appear multiple times on our map. In the Midwest, M25 leads in Illinois and Nebraska. And in the Mountain West, Next Frontier Capital is the top VC investor in Idaho and Montana.
There have been a number of shake-ups since we last conducted this analysis in April 2021, with 14 changes in top investors. Meanwhile, Andreessen Horowitz (California), Lerer Hippeau (New York), Accomplice (Massachusetts), and New Enterprise Associates (DC) held their ground in these VC hotspots.
| State | Top Investor |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Futures Fund |
| Alaska | Climate Impact Capital |
| Arizona | Greycroft |
| Arkansas | Revolution Rise Of The Rest Seed Fund |
| California | Andreessen Horowitz |
| Colorado | Foundry Group |
| Connecticut | Connecticut Innovations |
| DC | New Enterprise Associates |
| Delaware | Sierra Ventures |
| Florida | Florida Funders |
| Georgia | Panoramic Ventures |
| Hawaii | RET Ventures |
| Idaho | Next Frontier Capital |
| Illinois | M25 |
| Indiana | Elevate Ventures |
| Iowa | Next Level Ventures |
| Kansas | KCRise |
| Kentucky | Connetic Ventures |
| Louisiana | Innovation Catalyst |
| Maine | Maine Venture Fund |
| Maryland | Grotech Ventures |
| Massachusetts | Accomplice |
| Michigan | Detroit Venture Partners |
| Minnesota | Matchstick Ventures |
| Mississippi | PSG |
| Missouri | Cultivation Capital |
| Montana | Next Frontier Capital |
| Nebraska | M25 |
| Nevada | Lightspeed Venture Partners |
| New Hampshire | CRV |
| New Jersey | Newark Venture Partners |
| New Mexico | Arrowhead Innovation Fund |
| New York | Lerer Hippeau |
| North Carolina | Cofounders Capital |
| North Dakota | Gen7 Investments |
| Ohio | Rev1 Ventures |
| Oklahoma | Mercury Fund |
| Oregon | Portland Seed Fund |
| Pennsylvania | Birchmere Ventures |
| Rhode Island | Slater Technology Fund |
| South Carolina | Good Growth Capital |
| South Dakota | ClearSky |
| Tennessee | Innova Memphis |
| Texas | Silverton Partners |
| Utah | Kickstart Fund |
| Vermont | FreshTracks Capital |
| Virginia | CIT GAP Funds |
| Washington | Madrona Venture Group |
| West Virginia | Second Century Ventures |
| Wisconsin | Winnebago Capital Partners |
| Wyoming | SOSV |
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