Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

TIME Magazine and Statista have ranked the top 350 venture capital firms at the forefront of catalyzing innovation, supporting emerging start-ups, and driving the next generation of economic growth. Not surprisingly, almost two-thirds of the top 100 have a California business address.

Some in the top 10 are well-recognized, maybe even household names, like Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins. Others, less well-known, such as #1 Accel and #2 General Catalyst.

The highest-rated funds in the traditional Southeast were Florida-based BoldStart at #126, TheVentureCity at #164, Bling Capital (#169), and Seven Seven Six (#183). Hatteras Venture Partners, a North Carolina-based firm, logged in at #189.

Nashville-based First Cressey Ventures was the highest-rated Tennessee firm at #247. No other firms based in the Volunteer State made the top 350.

Others from the outheasr making the list included:

1. Florida-based Clear Sky (#251);
2. Florida-based K5 Global (#277); and
3. North Carolina-based Pappas Capital (#294).

How were the rankings determined?

To be considered, a firm must be headquartered in the United States and provide direct venture capital funding to companies and start-ups across various venture stages and sectors as a core part of its business model. Firms whose investment activities are exclusively or predominantly focused on growth equity, private equity, fund-of-funds, venture debt, or similar non-Venture capital-focused strategies are not eligible.

The ranking is based on a comprehensive evaluation of key financial and operational metrics across three core pillars: Fundraising Strength, Investment Capacity and Activity, and Exit and Fund Performance. Statista gathered and scrutinized data for more than 10,000 firms through desk research, online application forms, and collaborations with data and market intelligent companies.

1. The first dimension, Fundraising Strength, was measured by analyzing each firm’s total capital raised over the past five years and the most recent year, together with its fundraising momentum and efficiency to gauge its sustained ability to attract investors.
2. The second dimension, Investment Capacity & Activity, was evaluated using key metrics like available capital (dry powder), assets under management (AUM), and deal flow, examining both current investment potential and operational activity.
3. The third dimension, Exit & Fund Performance, was assessed based on the volume and efficiency of successful exits, captured through the exit-to-investment ratio and benchmarked fund returns, focusing on the quality and consistency of each firm’s track record.

Once the data was collected and evaluated, it was consolidated and weighted within a scoring model. The final score was calculated as follows: 35 percent x Fundraising Strength Score + 35 percent x Investment Capacity & Activity Score + 30 percent x Exit & Fund Performance score.

The 350 companies with the highest scores were honored as “America’s Top Venture Capital Firms 2025” by TIME and Statista.

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