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📍 July 9, 2025 — United States
The first half of 2025 has already become the most successful year on record for U.S. startups with at least one female founder, with $78.8 billion raised across 1,428 deals, according to PitchBook’s Female Founders Dashboard. This milestone surpasses the previous full-year record of $68.7 billion set in 2021, underscoring a surge in investor confidence and capital allocation toward women-led ventures.
📊 Quarterly Breakdown
- Q1 2025: $51.2 billion raised
- Q2 2025: $27.6 billion raised
These figures reflect unprecedented momentum, driven largely by two blockbuster artificial intelligence deals: - OpenAI: $40 billion round in March
- Scale AI: $14.3 billion round in June
🚀 Notable Q2 Transactions
- World View: $2.57 billion Series D for the space tech firm co-founded by Jane Poynter
- Glycomine: $115 million Series C for the biotech company founded by Dr. Agnes Rafalko
The data highlights a growing presence of female leadership in high-growth sectors such as AI, space exploration, and biotechnology, traditionally dominated by male-led firms.
📈 Industry Implications The record-breaking performance signals a shift in venture capital dynamics, with more institutional investors backing diverse founding teams. Analysts expect the trend to continue into the second half of the year, potentially pushing total funding for female-founded startups beyond $150 billion by year-end.
For full coverage, see the original report by Julia Midkiff on PitchBook News.
