Despite a city economy in crisis, venture capitalists continue to believe in San Francisco startups.
To be sure, venture deals inked in the city have declined since the beginning of 2022. In January, nearly $5 billion flowed into the city’s startups. By November, that figure was down to $1.1 billion.
The Standard’s analysis of PitchBook data showed a big third-quarter decline in the city but one not too different than that of VC investments across the U.S. All investors are regrouping given the crypto crash and the post-pandemic downturn in both the stock market and the economy overall.
By the end of November, 1,461 rounds of $31.5 billion in VC funding had flowed into startups headquartered in San Francisco—nothing to sneeze at. And though other metro areas like LA and NYC are nipping at SF’s heels, the Bay Area’s ecosystem for hatching and rearing young innovative companies appears still relatively healthy.
TeraWatt Infrastructure’s $1 billion round was San Francisco’s top venture capital deal of 2022. The SF-based firm aims to set up charging stations for fleets of commercial vehicles.
Massive investments in global logistics platform Flexport and online wholesaler Faire scored them the second and third spots on the list of SF’s biggest VC fundings to date year.
Andreesen Horowitz and Y Combinator were the biggest backers of SF startups. Both of these Silicon Valley venture capital firms funded more than 50 VC deals in the city during the first three quarters of 2022.
But a look at the list of 2022’s top 25 venture investors in San Francisco startups shows plenty of firms still believe the city is the right place to launch and grow innovative companies.