Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Despite a challenging fundraising environment, women-led venture capital funds made gains in 2023. That’s according to research by Venture Capital Journal as reported by CNBC.

The analysis revealed that women-led funds’ share of total fundraising increased to about three percent of the $107 billion raised last year by venture funds worldwide, up from less than two percent of the 2022 total. While that amount is still a small fraction of the total pool, venture capital funding in the U.S. for companies founded by women has been trending up in recent years. The upswing has had some help from the creation of incubators for women founders, more new companies founded by women and more venture capital funds focused on underrepresented founders.

“The access to wealth that women have in the U.S. today is really at a historic level. We have about $25 trillion of wealth in the U.S., and we’re approaching 50 percent of all wealth being owned by women in the U.S. And that wealth is power if we use it,” said Portfolia Founder and Chief Executive Officer Trish Costello.

Portfolia creates and manages about 16 venture funds designed for individual investors who want to invest in a portfolio of mostly women-led start-ups and want to learn more about venture investing. The firm has investments in more than 140 companies, most with women founders.

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