THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF FEMALE FINTECH FOUNDERS IN THE US
Exploring US female fintech founder data
“Talent is equally distributed; opportunity is not.” This oft-cited quote underscores persistent disparities in access to resources and opportunities. Lack of opportunity across a broad swath of American talent deprives society of transformative contributions and innovations.
Against this challenge, tracking gender-disaggregated data in venture capital is crucial. It provides a shared fact base to measure progress. Yet, venture-wide data doesn’t tell the full story—sector-specific dynamics remain under-examined. Deeper analysis uncovers more granular challenges and opportunities, driving insight and action.
At Flourish, we sought to better understand gender data in US fintech. Despite awareness of a gender divide, fintech-specific data has been fragmented and incomplete. This report—utilizing Pitchbook’s 2024 All In data—serves as the first comprehensive analysis of female fintech and insurtech founders in the US.
At Flourish, we sought to better understand gender data in US fintech.
Key insights: 2024 findings
Pronounced US female fintech funding gap, trailing overall US VC
- All-female-founded companies represented 1% of total fintech deal value and 2.9% of total fintech deal count, versus 1.9% and 6.5% respectively for overall US VC.
- Companies with at least one female founder represented 14.7% of total fintech deal value and 18.8% of total fintech count, versus 19.9% and 25.1% respectively for overall US VC.
Share of fintech deal activity has remained nearly flat
- From 2015 to 2024, share of deal value for all-female-founded companies went from 0.6% to 1%, while share of deal count went from 2.7% to 2.9%.
- For companies with at least one female founder, share of deal value went from 14.2% to 14.7%, while share of deal count went from 18.3% to 18.8%.
US insurtech mirrors fintech story
- All-female-founded insurtech companies represented 1.1% of total insurtech deal value and 3.0% of total insurtech deal count.
- Companies with at least one female founder represented 12.5% of insurtech deal value and 16.7% of total insurtech deal count.
Promising bright spots
- Fundraising dynamics for teams with at least one female founder - including graduation rates, valuations, and round sizes - are on par with fintech overall.
- Dynamic female talent at the senior executive level signals a promising cohort of next generation leaders.
2024 VC deal activity for all-female-founded companies as a share of all VC deal activity
2024 VC deal activity for companies with at least one female founder as a share of all VC deal activity
