Crunchbase reports that Boston is on pace to take back the number 2 spot on the list of the largest US startup funding hubs.
After years of trailing New York City in total annual venture investment, 2018 is shaping up to be Boston’s year, with VC funding totaling $5.2B in the Boston metro area so far this year (about 15% higher than NYC).
Investors are picking up what biotech is puttin’ down
Boston’s rich biotech industry deserves the majority of the credit, with companies like mRNA-drug developer Moderna Therapeutics bringing in in massive funding rounds ($625m across two rounds). And, of course, having MIT as a local never hurts…
Other Beantown success stories include online prescription service PillPack, recently acquired for $1B by Amazon, and CarGurus, which went public last October and is now valued around $4.7B.
Boston has also seen a massive influx of “supergiant” venture funds (raising $100m+) in 2018 — 15 Massachusetts companies have raised supergiant rounds this year alone (compared to 12 in all of 2017).
And it ain’t just Boston feeling the influx
People are flat out gettin’ tired of the Silicon Valley grind, and firms and startups alike are looking elsewhere to set up shop.
According to Dylan Morris, a partner at the Boston and SV-based VC firm CRV, this “Midwest migration” is only sweetening the VC pot across the US.