• From left: Brad Svrluga of Primary; Chris Lyons of Andreessen Horowitz; Jesse Draper of Halogen Ventures; Sarah Liu of Fifth Wall

  • There are several growing venture-capital ecosystems outside of Silicon Valley and New York.
  • VCs are writing checks from metropolitan areas like LA, Miami, Boston, and the Rocky Mountain region.
  • Insider compiled lists of VCs who are the must-know investors in their respective regions. 

There's no question that venture capitalists can now invest and write a check to a startup from anywhere in the US. It's a lesson they learned during the pandemic years, when, as a matter of necessity, many VCs and startup founders connected virtually and found that the need for capital was far beyond the tech hubs of the San Francisco-Bay Area and New York.

Turns out there are thriving venture-capital ecosystems in areas like Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami and other regions across the US. Data gathered by Carta shows that in 2022, Boston, Miami and Austin ranked in the top 10 metropolitan areas with the most venture investment activity.

Insider has compiled the must-know venture capitalists and those quickly rising up the ranks across the US that every startup founder interested in fundraising should meet — virtually or in-person — based on recommendations from their peers and our own research.

The 59 most important VCs in New York, according to other VCs

The 41 most important VCs in Boston, according to other VCs

The 26 most important VCs in Miami, according to other VCs

The 32 most important VCs in Los Angeles, according to other VCs

The 30 rising star VCs in Los Angeles, according to other VCs

The 45 most important VCs in Texas, according to other VCs

The 39 most important VCs in the Midwest, according to other VCs

The 23 most important VCs in the Rocky Mountain region, according to other VCs