Dealroom & SAP – US Scaleups Ecosystem, 2024

The US dominates in late-stage outcomes, attracting over 60% of late-stage funding and having the majority of unicorns. It is also the top geography for unicorn and decacorn conversions. Many scaleups originate in the US, with hundreds of startups spinning out from successful American scaleups. Additionally, some scaleups from abroad move to the US for scaling, with 10% of US unicorns founded overseas, particularly from Europe and Israel. The US ecosystem is geographically distributed, with VC funding rising again in 2024 after reaching 2018 levels. While the Bay Area still leads in large outcomes, cities like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles are growing rapidly, along with emerging ecosystems in Pittsburgh, Denver, Washington DC, and Miami. Top funded frontier tech segments in the US include Gen AI and Climate tech, with 25% of VC investment going to AI-first companies in 2023. However, Climate Tech funding decreased by 58% despite interest in energy and mobility innovations like EV Battery recycling, Solar Energy, and Green Hydrogen production.