The Evolution of Venture Fundraising & Venture-Backed Company Exits Across Regions In The U.S.
For decades, the Silicon Valley and San Francisco area was synonymous with the venture capital industry. It was known as the unrivaled epicenter of startup innovation and investment—a place where billion-dollar ideas seemed to sprout effortlessly from the Bay Area’s tech-enhanced soil. Yet, over the past two decades, the startup ecosystem has spread across the country and evolved, shaped by economic cycles, technological breakthroughs, and shifting regional investment trends that have redirected the flow of capital and influenced how venture-backed companies exit through acquisitions or initial public offerings (“IPOs”).
While Interplay is a New York-based venture capital firm, we invest nationally and we’re motivated to dispassionately decode geographic patterns and pinpoint opportunities. In crafting this report, we set out to challenge our own assumptions about regional stereotypes, taking a more granular, data-driven look at whether this perception holds true or if other corners of the country are thriving—or perhaps declining—beyond the spotlight.
This report examines trends in venture capital activity across different U.S. regions from 2000 to 2024. Specifically, we analyze the number of venture fundraising rounds and the number of venture-backed company exits to understand the evolution of the venture ecosystem over the past two decades. We hope that this report illuminates where venture capital is truly flourishing and how the ecosystem is evolving.
METHODOLOGY
We split our research into two parts:
- Volume of venture capital fundraising rounds by region in the U.S.
- Volume of venture-backed company exits by region in the U.S. with distinction by exit type (M&A or IPO) and size.
Sources:
We collected data on all recorded fundraising rounds and exits between 2000-2024. Sources include venture capital databases (e.g., PitchBook), industry reports, and press releases.
Data Categorization:
- The U.S. was segmented into six key regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South, Southwest, Midwest, and West.
- Exits were classified by size: Small (<$50M), Mid-size ($50M - $500M), Large ($500M+), and by type: IPO and M&A.
FINDINGS
Part I: Venture Fundraising
#1: Venture capital exploded across the U.S.
Between 2000-2024, the number of total venture fundraising rounds in the U.S. grew exponentially at a 25.4% CAGR, far outpacing U.S. GDP growth, which grew by a 2.5% CAGR over the same time period. Growth was not driven by one region - all regions grew the total number of fundraising rounds with CAGRs ranging between 27%-33%.
#2: “The Rule of 2”: In their share of total deals, the West is ~2x the Mid-Atlantic, and the Mid-Atlantic is ~2x each of the other regions.
The regional distribution of total venture fundraising rounds from 2000-2024 was the following:
While emerging regions like the Southwest (32.8% CAGR) experienced growth that outpaced more established regions like the West (28.5% CAGR), this distribution was largely consistent over the 25-year period and still reflects the current state of round distribution as of 2024.
#3: Fundraising is fairly concentrated among the top 5 cities.
The top five cities for venture fundraising, in order of total share, are San Francisco (inclusive of Silicon Valley and the general Bay Area), New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, and Philadelphia. Together, the top 5 cities account for over 50% of total venture fundraising rounds from 2000-2024.
#4: NYC is the only city that has meaningfully increased its share of deals among the top 5 cities.
NYC’s share among the top 5 cities climbed steadily from 11.5% in 2000 to 25.9% in 2024. Notably, NYC has shown greater resilience than the larger SF market during tech market downturns such as those in 2023 and 2009. NYC’s stability stems from its broader industry mix and proximity to traditional finance, cushioning it against tech-specific volatility that often hits SF harder. While SF remains the leader for total round volume, NYC’s faster growth and resilience signal its rising influence in the broader VC landscape.
Part II: Exits
#1: The West continues to dominate in share of total exits.
Total venture-backed company exits recorded between 2000-2024 was 23,145, with the West accounting for 46%. However, as we all know, not all exits are created equal. When we strip out the 63% of total exits that have undisclosed values and focus on the known larger exits, the West accounts for 51% of all M&A exits between $500M-$1B, 57% of M&A exits over $1B, and 47% of all IPOs. This generally aligns with the larger relative size of the ecosystem, but we suspect there are some network effects in more dense regions as some of the M&A could include sales to other venture-backed startups. We presume that other regions will also likely benefit from acquisition network effects as they achieve increased scale.
#2: Companies in New England had a uniquely high rate of exiting, likely driven by biotech.
If we just look at total exits/total fundraising rounds by region from 2000-2024, including exits with undisclosed values, New England has the highest exit rate (23.78%) followed by the West (20.6%). All regions are within 16.5%-24% exit rate. When we strip out undisclosed exits and exits valued at less than $100M, the West leads (4.73%) but is only slightly ahead of New England (4.31%). All regions are within 2.5%-5.0% exit rates. From the data, it looks like New England (Boston being the driver) was particularly strong with IPOs during the 2010s. It’s our hypothesis that this performance was driven by biotech & life sciences sectors (Moderna Therapeutics, Blueprint Medicines, Foundation Medicine) but they also had a few notable IPOs outside of these categories (Wayfair, Stubhub).
#3: Exits were concentrated in the top 5 cities, with New York representing the only city that gained a meaningful share.
The top 5 cities for venture exits (in order) are San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle. Together, the top 5 cities account for 55%+ of total exits between 2000-2024. NYC gained share while SF lost share among the top 5 cities. Boston, LA, and Seattle remained more or less constant.
CONCLUSION
Opportunity is everywhere. The West, particularly San Francisco, remains an outlier in terms of deal volume and exits. The broader ecosystem is also evolving, and the top 5 cities in the U.S. continue to become increasingly attractive. Amongst the top 5 cities, New York continues to gain share of deals and exits amongst top cities. The Southwest and South’s high growth in fundraising rounds indicate potential as investors seek untapped opportunities in lower-cost regions, a trend possibly accelerated by remote work and post-2020 talent migration.
At Interplay, we embrace this dynamic landscape by exploring all regions and committing to identifying and supporting the best companies across the country. The data illuminates a very powerful story. It’s not just a story of opportunity for more populations across the country, it’s also the story of a system that is rapidly increasing its ability to drive innovation and advance the human condition. This data tells a story of hope.
CONTACT
To connect with our VC team and learn more about our fund, please reach out to Christian Mark.