Two Maryland universities among the best for startup founders, report finds

University of Maryland College Park, and Johns Hopkins University alumni have both seen success in raising capital for their startups.

By Matt Hooke - Reporter

November 04, 2022, 06:41am EDT

Two Maryland universities landed a spot as one of the top 100 institutions for startup founders, according to a new report from Pitchbook.

The University of Maryland College Park and Johns Hopkins University both earned spots in the ranking of the best undergraduate and graduate schools for entrepreneurs. Pitchbook judged schools from across the world based on the number of founders whose companies received a first round of venture funding between 2012 and Oct. 21, 2022.

UMD ranked as the 33rd best undergraduate school with 400 founders starting 382 companies that raised $9.5 billion. Johns Hopkins University ranked as the 50th best undergraduate school for entrepreneurs, with 270 founders starting 251 companies that raked in $7.9 billion in venture capital.

Hopkins performed better on the graduate side, with 582 founders of 493 companies bringing in $20.3 billion in venture capital money. The highest performing company started by a Hopkins alumnae, SanaBiotechnology, raised $865 million, according to PitchBook. The company had a massive $675 billion initial public offering in 2021.

Other locally based Hopkins affiliated startups that have found venture capital success include CraniUS, a company that hopes to revolutionize treatment of brain disorders, and Delfi Diagnostics, a company started by a Hopkins professor that raised $225 million in the second mega-deal in Greater Baltimore this year.

UMD alumni have also started many successful companies, catapulting the school to the no. 35 spot among graduate schools, with alumni earning $9.6 billion in venture capital. Pitchbook listed Generate as the top company started by UMD alumni. The financial services company has raised $3.3 billion in venture capital.

The two schools have invested in programs such as the Hopkins FastForwardU and the University of Maryland Mtech ventures program to help spur students to become successful entrepreneurs.

"Increasingly, students are forming companies while on campus and pursuing those ventures after graduation, leveraging the traction, skills and funding secured on campus to become venture-backed entrepreneurs," Liz Burger, head of strategy for Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures said in a statement.

Public schools, such as UMD, make up the majority of the Pitchbook list, but private schools alumnae earn a disproportionate amount of capital for their companies. North America has a dominate presence in the startup world, with 83 out of the 100 universities on the Pitchbook list being based in the United States or Canada.