South Florida Lags National Trends in Female Startup Funding

Despite record-breaking national numbers, venture capital dollars flowing to female-founded companies in South Florida fell sharply in 2025.

Published on Mar. 11, 2026

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After a strong rebound in 2024, venture capital dollars flowing to female-founded companies in South Florida fell back sharply in 2025, even as overall funding in the region increased by 49%. The percentage share of female-founded deals and dollars in South Florida also lags the national trends, which saw female-founded companies collectively raise a record $73.6 billion in 2025, nearly twice as much as in 2024.

Why it matters

The decline in female startup funding in South Florida bucks the national trend, raising concerns about the region's ability to support and nurture women entrepreneurs. Increasing female representation in venture capital firms is seen as key to creating more opportunities for women founders, as female investors can better identify and back startups that may otherwise be overlooked.

The details

In the Miami metro area, startups with all-women founder teams raised $82 million (across 22 deals) out of the total $478 million raised by startups with at least one woman founder in 2025. This accounted for just 2% of the total raised and 8% of the deal count in the region, lagging the national trends. Seed-stage startups with female founders accounted for 28 of the 70 deals and collectively attracted $52 million, while startups that raised Series A rounds secured $102 million over 18 deals and later-stage startups (Series B and higher) raised $323 million over 24 deals.

  • In 2025, female-founded startups in South Florida raised $478 million across 70 deals, down sharply from $806 million across 85 deals in 2024.
  • In 2025, startups with all-women founder teams in the Miami metro area raised $82 million across 22 deals.

The players

Pitchbook

A data provider that publishes an annual report on the state of female founders in the venture capital ecosystem.

Annemarie Donegan

A senior custom research analyst at Pitchbook and the author of the 2025 US All In: Female Founders in the VC Ecosystem report.

All Raise

A San Francisco-based organization working to address disparities in female funding and funders.

Embarc Collective

A Tampa-based organization that hosts the Glaring Gap Summits to address issues around female funding and funders.

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What they’re saying

“That suggests there is underlying momentum behind the headline-grabbing AI rounds.”

— Annemarie Donegan, Senior custom research analyst, Pitchbook (Pitchbook)

The takeaway

The decline in female startup funding in South Florida, even as overall funding in the region increased, highlights the need for more targeted efforts to support and invest in women entrepreneurs in the region. Increasing the representation of female investors in venture capital firms is seen as a key step in creating more opportunities for women-led startups.