Startups Blog

In the midst of what we hope will be a once in a lifetime crisis, venture capital investment in startups remained relatively strong in 2020.

While millions of traditional small businesses struggle to survive, the funding environment in the U.S. for promising startups is setting records. Last week, just the top 5 startups raked in almost $2.5 billion dollars in funding. Even if you exclude SpaceX's record $1.9 billion round, the top 10 startups still raised over $700 million. Let's take a look at the top five rounds.

The average Series A round is now $15.72 million, a new record. While the staggering size of many biotech rounds remains largely responsible for the new record mean (still about double the median Series A size), companies in other industries are also contributing to the rise.

When many people think of startups they think of people like a young Mark Zuckerberg starting Facebook, or back in the day, Bill Gates and Microsoft. But at least in today's world, these cases are much more the exception than the rule. Today's successful startup founders are older and increasingly more diverse.

Looking for a new place to live or start a company? You many want to consider Charlotte, North Carolina.

New data from Fundz’ startup company database shows biotech startups in the U.S have seen a sharp increase in funding over the last 60 days compared to the same period a year ago.

In March, equity crowdfunding portal StartEngine announced that Kevin O’Leary, aka Shark Tank's "Mr. Wonderful", would join the company as a strategic advisor and investor in the company. O’Leary commented in the press release: “We’re going to look back on this period as the start of the rise of equity crowdfunding, and I think it’s an industry that StartEngine is going to win.”

Ironically, given the unprecedented economic and market conditions, big venture capital firms helped to push the average series a funding to $14 million last week, which ties the all-time record set late last year.

The numbers are staggering. Over 22 million people in the U.S. lost their jobs over the last month. Thousands of businesses shut down and despite their best efforts, many will undoubtedly not return. 

Yet, despite all the devastation, Wall Street has started to rally. Recent data from US venture capital firms also shows stability, though noticeable shifts.