America's Entrepreneurial Boom

A map of the universe.

1. The pandemic dealt a stunning blow to the American economy, pushing millions out of their jobs and shuttering hundreds of thousands of businesses. But it sparked activity, too. In 2020, as the virus spread and hospitals filled, Americans filed paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service to start 4.4 million new businesses, a 24% increase from the previous year. The boom continued in 2021. Figures released by the Census Bureau on January 12th showed that new business applications rose by 23% in 2021 to 5.4 million, the most since the government started collecting data in 2004. (Source: economist.com)

2. In a wild year for startup funding, one variable stayed constant: The most active investors and biggest check writers are familiar names who’ve been at this a long time. For 2021, SoftBank Vision Fund and Tiger Global topped the list of largest lead investors globally in venture and growth-stage rounds, according to an analysis of Crunchbase data. Y Combinator, meanwhile, was the busiest investor by round counts, with 642 deals last year, followed by rival startup accelerator Techstars. (Source: news.crunchbase.com)