Despite the progress, female startup founders have not yet reached parity in terms of venture dollars for their companies. However, the trend is moving in a positive direction with more women in the startup ecosystem than ever. It's important to support female founders early to ensure a balanced and sustained increase across all funding stages. The data also showed that funding amounts to female-only founded companies have fluctuated between 2% and 3% since 2015, while funding to female/male co-founded companies jumped in 2023.
Key takeaways:
- In 2023, a quarter of all U.S. venture funding, amounting to $34.7 billion, went to startups with at least one female co-founder, marking a significant increase from 15% in 2022.
- More than 50% of U.S. investment in the AI sector in 2023 went to companies with at least one female founder, totaling around $21 billion across over 360 rounds.
- Despite the increase in funding, the majority of funded AI startups in the U.S. did not have a female founder, with just under 20% of funding rounds in AI going to companies with a female founder.
- While there has been progress in funding for female startup founders, it has been slow and has not reached parity. However, 2023 offered new hope that women-founded startups, particularly in new tech waves like AI, will continue to see gains.