Nearly 40% of VC-backed startups in Chicago are founded by women or someone identifying as nonbinary or other gender, according to a new report, which outpaces the national average of just 28%.
The report, published by Chicago Blend, an organization that aims to measure and increase diversity at Chicago VC firms and startups, found that 39% of venture-backed companies in Chicago have at least one founder identifying as woman, nonbinary or other gender. That's up from 31% in 2020.
The report also found that between 2020 and 2022, the total share of women, nonbinary or other gender CEOs, which includes founders and nonfounding CEOs, jumped from 21.8% to 33.7%.
The report measured self-reported data from 77 VC-backed startups in Chicago.
Chicago Blend's report found that nearly three quarters (73%) of VC-backed companies in Chicago surveyed have at least one white founder. Around a quarter (26%) have at least one Asian founder, while 16.9% have at least one Hispanic or Latino founder.
Some 14.3% have at least one Black or African American founder, and 2.6% have at least one founder identifying as two or more races. The total share of Black CEOs and Latino CEOs increased 187% and 563%, respectively, the report said.
The findings come as groups like Chicago Blend, along with funds like LongJump, Capitalize VC and Fifth Star Funds, have worked to support Chicago's underrepresented founders. Chicago had the highest percentage of angel and seed-stage investment going to Black and Latino founders of any major tech hub in the U.S., according to a report from P33, which also found that Chicago nearly tripled its investment in Black and Latino founders since 2019.
But while more women and people of color are getting funded in Chicago, larger checks have still been written to companies led by white men. Companies surveyed in Chicago Blend's report that have raised more than $50 million in capital have founding teams made up of all men. No companies surveyed that had a Latino founder raised more than $20 million, and no company led by a Black founder raised more than $50 million.
The report comes as national funding for Black startup founders plummeted in Q2. Black-founded startups raised $324 million in the second quarter of 2022, down from $1.2 billion in Q1 and $866 million in Q2 last year, according to data from Crunchbase.
Chicago Blend launched in 2018. Led by Executive Director Joey Mak, Chicago Blend announced earlier this year the launch of the Chicago Venture Fellows, a program aimed at training aspiring venture capitalists who come from underrepresented backgrounds. The program, which is aimed at Black, Indigenous, people of color, women, nonbinary and other marginalized groups, will offer four months of skills training, mentorship, education and other assistance in learning the VC ropes.
