Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Knoxville Business News Tennessee Mountain Scenery Background
September 26, 2021 | Tom Ballard

Venture funding in first eight months of 2021 not kind to female-founded start-ups

It’s not a trend that we want to see.

As described in this Crunchbase News article, “Reading headlines around U.S. start-up funding, a common theme for 2021 is that practically everything is up. Venture investment is at record highs. Sectors like crypto, security and telehealth are seeing multifold gains. Giant rounds and big exits keep piling up. However, one thing the data shows is not up: The share of venture funding going to female-founded start-ups.”

According to Crunchbase data, companies with solely female founders raised just 2.2 percent of  all venture funding in the first eight months of 2021. That’s a lower share than any of the previous five calendar years. Conversely, teams with male and female founders pulled in 11.7 percent of total funding in the same period which is roughly a median level compared to the past five calendar years, in which mixed-gender teams brought in 12 percent of funding on average.


Don’t Miss Out on the Southeast’s Latest Entrepreneurial, Business, & Tech News!

Sign-up to get the Teknovation Newsletter in your inbox each morning!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.


No, thanks!