Youngkin: Va. spawned 10,000+ startups in 2022-23

More than 10,000 high-growth and high-wage startup companies were created in Virginia during 2022 and 2023, according to research conducted by Richmond’s Chmura Economics & Analytics for the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. 

On Thursday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced this achievement at an event at Zebox America, an Arlington County-based startup accelerator and innovation hub run by shipping giant CMA CGM Group. Representatives from Chmura and VIPC, a state-affiliated nonprofit that provides strategic commercialization and funding support to Virginia-based tech startups, were able to show the work behind that 10,000 startups number Friday afternoon. 

To be considered a startup by Chmura Economics analysts, a company had to offer above-average wages for Virginia and had to have an above-average forecasted employment growth rate. Using that criteria, the firm found 10,337 Virginia-based startup companies that launched in 2022 and 2023. 

“At the beginning of my administration, I pledged to reinvigorate job growth and foster an environment for 10,000 new startups in Virginia, and we’ve achieved it in record time,” Youngkin stated in a Thursday news release. In that release, the governor’s office claimed that the administration had “achieved this 10,000 new startup milestone faster than any previous Virginia governor’s administration in the last 15 years.”  

VIPC and Chmura Economics representatives provided a chart to Virginia Business listing the number of startups launched in Virginia in the first two years of the tenure of each Virginia governor since 2010. In 2010 and 2011 under Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia created 5,802 startup companies meeting the criteria. In 2014 and 2015 under Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Virginia created 6,684 startups. In 2018 and 2019, under Gov. Ralph Northam, 6,149 eligible startups were created. 

Creating 10,337 new startups in 2022 and 2023 is a rate 66% higher than the historical average of those figures, according to VIPC CEO Joe Benevento. 

VIPC plans to distribute more information about the research during the week of Aug. 5. 

For 2022 and 2023, nearly 500 more startups were created on average each quarter in Virginia than were created during the 2012-2021 quarterly average, according to VIPC and Chmura. 

“The other thing that was really nice to see from the data that Chmura crunched … was [that] this increase was really broad, based across all the regions of the commonwealth,” Benevento said. 

All regions of Virginia saw an increase in the average quarterly number of startups created in 2022 and 2023 over the average quarterly number of startups created during the 2012-2021 period, according to Chmura’s data. The average quarterly number of startups during these two years was an increase compared to the average quarterly number of startups created between 2012-2021, according to the data. 

GO Virginia, the state economic development initiative to foster job creation, divides the state into nine regions. Go Virginia Region 1 in Southwest Virginia saw the smallest increase, at 5%. Go Virginia Region 3 in Southern Virginia saw the greatest increase at 41%, according to the data provided by Chmura Economics. 

Youngkin also noted in Thursday’s release that Virginia ranked No. 8 in the country for highest venture capital investment activity during 2023 and was ranked 13th in 2022, according to data assembled by Chmura Economics from the National Venture Capital Association.  

“We’ve reached this incredible milestone by driving innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, bolstering our talent pipeline, providing needed tax relief and truly creating an environment where startups and businesses can thrive,” Youngkin stated Thursday. 

In May, VIPC announced a program called Virginia Invests, with VIPC partnering with seven venture capital fund managers to invest $100 million in 100 Virginia-based high-growth startups.

“VIPC’s most recent new statewide initiative for example, Virginia Invests, is going to attract and catalyze over $250 million of outside venture capital from private market investment partners that will be invested directly in Virginia startups and help support the next wave of 10,000 new startups in Virginia,” Benevento said in statement sent Friday. 

In July, Virginia ranked as CNBC’s Top State for Business, marking the record sixth time the business news network has rated Virginia No. 1 in the nation.