AI is crowding out female founders: Startups with at least one female founder accounted for just 21.7% of combined value of VC investments in the US throughout 2024 — the lowest rate since 2017 — as VC funds shift their focus to AI startups, according to Pitchbook. Last year’s reversal threatens to roll back some of the gains seen in terms of female representation over the past few years.

By the numbers: Female-founded startups collectively raised USD 45.3 bn in 2024, up almost 12% y-o-y. However, Anthropic — co-founded by Daniela Amodei — accounted for USD 9.2 bn of this total. Excluding Anthropic, funding for female-founded startups drops to USD 36.1 bn, out of combined value of investments at USD 209 bn. Anthropic barely makes the cut, as Amodei is the only female among seven co-founders.

Early-stage startup funding also saw a decline: Out of more than 3.1k first financings in 2024, only 20.5% involved a female co-founder, down from 26.5% in 2020. This is particularly concerning as early-stage funding is historically more equitable and has a higher number of female investors, according to Pitchbook.

Funds targeting female founders are also “scaling back size or struggling,” further narrowing prospects for female-led startups, GP at The Artemis Fund Diana Murakhovskaya said. The closure of global nonprofit Girls in Tech after 17 years in business, and the legal block enforced on US-based Fearless Fund’s grants for Black female-owned businesses, are some of the most recent indications of dwindling resources for female entrepreneurs.

Bias is bad for everyone: Lack of diversity in VC decision-making teams leads to “market blind spots” and missed prospects, Pitchbook argues. The imbalance also risks embedding systemic gender inequities into AI systems, as they will be developed mainly by male-founded ventures.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mixed this morning, as investors analyze Trump’s comments on China tariffs starting February. Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.5%, while Hang Seng (Hong Kong) declined 1.4%, and Shanghai Composite declined 1.0%. Wall Street futures are in the green after strong gains for the S&P 500 in the first trading day after Trump’s inauguration.

TASI

12,370

-0.1% (YTD: +2.8%)

MSCI Tadawul 30

1,549

-0.2% (YTD: +2.6%)

NomuC

31,318

0.0% (YTD: -0.5%)

USD : SAR (SAMA)

USD 3.75 Sell

USD 3.75 Buy

Interest rates

5.0% repo

4.5% reverse repo

EGX30

29,827

+0.7% (YTD: +0.3%)

ADX

9,517

+0.1% (YTD: +1.0%)

DFM

5,220

+0.5% (YTD: +1.2%)

S&P 500

6049

+0.9% (YTD: +2.9%)

FTSE 100

8,548

+0.3% (YTD: +4.6%)

Euro Stoxx 50

5,166

0.0% (YTD: +5.5%)

Brent crude

USD 79.51

-0.8%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 3.78

-4.4%

Gold

USD 2,743.01

+1.3%

BTC

USD 106,465.40

+3.8% (YTD: +13.9%)

THE CLOSING BELL: TADAWUL-

The TASI fell 0.1% yesterday on turnover of SAR 6.9 bn. The index is up 2.8% YTD.

In the green: Rasan (+10.0%), Saudi Cable (+10.0%) and Walaa (+6.2%).

In the red: Awca Power (-3.5%), Americana (-3.1%) and Almajed Oud (-3.0%).

THE CLOSING BELL: NOMU-

The NomuC was unchanged yesterday on turnover of SAR 55.3 mn. The index is down 0.5% YTD.

In the green: Naas Petrol (+7.8%), AlRasheed (+6.9%) and AlBabtain Food (+4.3%).

In the red: Arabica Star (-4.8%), Naba AlSaha (-4.5%) and Fesh Fash (-4.3%)

Tags: