Study Ranks Top 100 US VC Firms From 230,000 Investments, Finding 90% of Profits Go to 5%
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Jun 25
Study Ranks Top 100 US VC Firms From 230,000 Investments, Finding 90% of Profits Go to 5%
1 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Jun 25
Summary
A new Strebulaev-Jackson ranking of 100 US venture capital firms draws on 230,000 investments made by nearly 13,000 VCs over 30 years, offering a rare performance map of an opaque industry.
The study finds venture capital returns are extremely concentrated: about 90% of industry profits come from just 5% of firms, extending the sector’s power-law dynamic from start-ups to the investors themselves.
Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, DST Global and Tiger Global top the list, and 62 of the 100 firms are based in California.
The authors note access remains a hurdle for institutional investors outside elite funds, while firm-level rankings can mask big differences between individual funds and shifting strategies toward larger late-stage bets.
That shift could reshape future standings as SpaceX, valued at $1.78tn, and other giant VC-backed companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic move closer to potential listings.