Women-founded AI startups see a boost in VC funding

Funding to U.S.-based AI companies with at least one woman founder has steadily increased over the past few years, according to Crunchbase data.

Last year, such companies raised $3.61 billion out of the $23.5 billion allocated in total to U.S. AI startups, or around 15.38%. That is a steady year-over-year increase. In 2021, for example, AI companies with at least one woman founder raised 13.2% of all capital raised in the sector. In 2020, that was 11.6%, and 11.5% in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. This is exciting.

Usually, in times of a venture pullback, women and people of color are negatively affected as investors retreat to the traditional networks they deem safe. Keep in mind that it’s possible that this data is slightly inflated because it counts all companies with at least one woman founder; usually, all-women teams raise much, much less than mixed-gender teams, giving way to the narrative that the presence of a man always adds — or, in this case, sustains — the value of a woman.