Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the Dallas Business Journal.
In the space between the coasts, North Texas stands out as a region for helping young companies with capital – but not on the level of Austin, a new report shows.
In the central part of the U.S., Dallas-Fort Worth took the No. 4 spot among other metros based on investments between 2010 and 2019, according to a study by Crunchbase and Dundee Capital titled “America’s Mighty Middle.” North Texas brought in seed backing of $700 million during those years, the report said.
Still, Austin beat all contenders with $1.3 billion in seed funding. Greater Denver was No. 2, and greater Chicago was No. 3.
The Dallas area posted $6.5 billion in total invested, putting it at No. 5 by that measure, while Austin had $11.8 billion.
The report is based on cities and metros among the 25 states that stretch from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.
“In the last decade, startup activity outside of Silicon Valley has surged,” the report said. “Coastal VCs are concentrating more capital outside of traditional startup hotbeds like the Bay Area, New York and Boston, while VC fund formation between the coasts proliferated over the last decade, allowing entrepreneurs to access capital regionally."
In the region, invested dollars grew from $5.8 billion in 2010 to $20.2 billion, the report said. Also, investment across all stages increased significantly throughout the decade.
Texas did well, coming at No. 2 on the list for highest total venture capital investments among states. It edged out and Michigan and Colorado. Pennsylvania, which only included Pittsburgh west of the Appalachians, came in at No. 1.
Among cities and metros, another Texas city, Houston, came in at No. 6 based on total seed investments.
The Dallas area has held its own in other research. The region area ranked No. 7 in the U.S. among metropolitan areas based on technology employment in 2019, according to the latest Cyberstates report by CompTIA.
