According to the latest report from Crunchbase, there’s good news and bad news for female founders in 2021.
First, the bad news. Funding to women founders dropped 22% year-over-year in 2020 and dwindled to just 2.2% of all venture funding through August of 2021. This is lower than what it’s been the past five years. However, with a male cofounder alongside, that number jumped to $15.9 billion or 11.7% of total funding.
Now for some positive stats: Venture capital investors were putting their dollars into seed and early-stage startups founded by women. Sixty-one percent of total funding that went to female-founded companies this year was to startups in those stages of growth.
And finally, 2021 was a banner year for IPOs of women-led companies. They include Whitney Wolfe Herd’s Bumble, healthcare apparel company Figs, digital health platform Maven, and Rhianna’s Savage x Fenty, all of which are firmly in unicorn territory with valuations over $1 billion.
Recognize your company's culture of innovation by applying to this year's Best Workplaces for Innovators Awards before the extended deadline, April 12.
