Latest Southeast Capital Landscape Report issued
The Volunteer State recorded a more than 70 percent increase in firms since 2021.
The latest 2024 Southeast Capital Landscape Report from Build In SE in collaboration with Tampa Bay-based Embarc Collective was released on Wednesday, and it shows great growth in the Tennessee investment community.
According to the report which serves as the most comprehensive investor database in the Southeast, the past three years have brought more than 100 new firms to the Southeast, meaning the partners identified 386 firms based in the Southeast. More significantly, there was immense growth concentrated in Tennessee – a 70.7 percent increase in firms since 2021.
Monique Villa, Co-Founder of Build In SE Inc., noted several other data points that surfaced for the Volunteer State.
- Nearly one-half (34 out of 70) of Tennessee’s venture capital funds have a healthcare-focused investment thesis, while 25 percent of the funds are considered sector agnostic, investing across various industries which she said is the second largest focus.
- The majority of Tennessee-based funds focus on early-stage investments. About 79 percent of Tennessee-based funds participate in seed rounds, while 51 percent invest in Series A rounds. “This indicates a strong emphasis on supporting companies in their initial growth phases,” Villa added.
Not surprisingly, the majority of the firms call the greater Nashville area home. There are six listed as based in Chattanooga, two in Williamson County (one each in Brentwood and Franklin), one (Market Square Ventures) in Knoxville, five in Memphis, 54 in Nashville including InvestTN, and two in Oak Ridge.
By stage with firms that might make investments in multiple stages, the report notes the following:
- Pre-Seed (90);
- Seed (263);
- Series A (178);
- Series B (77);
- Series C (15); and
- Growth (59).
Build In SE describes its mission as increasing the number of start-up success stories in the Southeast by leveraging a cross-regional, collaborative network of entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, and investors. The organization says it believes in the power of the community to support founders as they launch and scale their businesses.
As far as the definition of the Southeast, it is a collection of states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
“This report is a high-level illustration of the Southeast Capital Landscape that seeks to outline key organizations, investors, and trends throughout the region,” the compilers note. Data was aggregated and analyzed from PWC MoneyTree Reports, BIP Capital, Crunchbase, and self-reported by accelerators, entrepreneurs, and investors from within the region.
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