The states of Florida, North Carolina, and Texas defied the global venture funding downturn of 2022.
Florida and North Carolina saw $9.1B and $4.9B VC funding deployed, respectively, up 25% and 24% from 2021. VC funding deployed in Texas stayed level compared to 2021, with both years rounding off at $10.3B each.
- The funding increase in Florida was driven by the crypto, space, gaming, and cybersecurity startups in the region, with Fanatics, Yuga Labs, and Citadel Securities fetching most of the funding.
- North Carolina's funding uptick was helped massively by Sony and KIRKBI's $2B investment into Epic Games. The state has also seen a rise in research, biotech, enterprise software, deeptech, AI, and fintech firms.
- Texas — which had seen VC funding double from $5B in 2020 to $10.3B in 2021 — remained a key region for investment due to the thriving healthcare IT, fintech, and enterprise software ecosystem. The state's 2022 tally saw a massive boost from Securonix's $1B funding round and Elon Musk's The Boring Company's $675M fundraiser.
