Business · Facts & sources
4 sourced facts about venture capital and startups, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Answerabout 20%
BLS tracking of businesses that opened in 2013 found roughly 1 in 5 had already failed a year later.
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, via Forbes Advisor (2024) forbes.com
Answerabout $215.4 billion
US VCs closed roughly 14,320 deals worth $215.4 billion in 2024, even as investors sat on record amounts of unspent capital.
Source: PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor (2024) nvca.org
Answer1,248 unicorns
CB Insights tracked 1,248 unicorn companies globally, a title that used to be rare but has become almost common in startup circles.
Source: CB Insights, via Wikipedia (2024) en.wikipedia.org
Answerabout $321.6 billion
Fueled heavily by AI mega-deals, 2025 became the biggest year on record for US venture capital investment.
Source: Wikipedia, venture capital (2025) en.wikipedia.org