WEST HARTFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fairview Capital, a leading venture capital and private equity investment management firm, today announced the release of its 2024 Market Review of Woman and Minority-Owned Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms. This year marks a significant milestone as the number of woman and minority-owned firms in the United States surpassed 1,000 firms for the first time, reflecting a nearly tenfold increase since Fairview began publishing this data in 2014.
The report highlights a record 537 woman and minority-owned firms actively raising capital in 2024, marking the largest year-over-year increase since 2019. New firms were a major driver of this growth, with 284 of the firms in market raising first-time funds, representing 53% of the opportunity set.
“We’re seeing sustained conviction from talented managers eager to launch their own firms, with increased spin-out activity from larger, more established platforms,” said Aakar Vachhani, Managing Partner at Fairview Capital. “At the same time, many of these first-time fundraises are taking longer to complete, often stretching across multiple years – indicative of both the persistence of new managers and the selectivity of today’s fundraising environment.”
The median fund size target for woman and minority-owned firms in market decreased from $100 million in 2023 to $75 million in 2024, reflecting both the surge in new firm formation and more modest fund size increases for successor funds. The report also highlights a shift in fundraising outcomes: between 2014 and 2021, approximately 44% of woman and minority-owned firms in market closed funds at or above target each year, compared to an average of just 24% from 2022 to 2024.
Venture capital continues to dominate the landscape, with 76% of woman and minority-owned firms in market raising venture capital funds in 2024, tying an all-time high.
