A new report from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs that tracks investments made by LA-based venture firms connected to the Annenberg Foundation’s PledgeLA initiative found slight increases in funding to women and Black founders when compared with the previous year. However, there are still many gaps remaining, especially when it comes to check size and venture firms’ comparative assets under management.
From an analysis of 2022 investments made by 75 LA-based venture firms in 884 tech startups led by 1,663 founders and co-founders, the following insights emerged:
- In 2022, 30% of companies receiving investment were led by women, Black, and/or Latinx founders.
- However, these founders only received 4.6% ($6.4 billion) of the $139 billion invested in 2022.
- VC firms led by underrepresented minorities and those with a diversity thesis were almost twice as likely to back Latinx and women founders, and four times more likely to invest in Black founders.
- Traditional VCs had an average of $335M of assets under management (AUM), far exceeding VC firms led by underrepresented minorities ($53M), VC firms with a diversity thesis ($33M), or VC firms led by women ($17M).
To help focus the LA venture ecosystem on closing these gaps, PledgeLA announced a new regional goal called “50 in 5” during LA #TechWeek in June. The goal seeks to drive 50% of all venture investments to companies led by women, Black, and Latinx founders by 2028 (up from the current level of 30%).
